Opinion: What price does NZ Cricket put on Plunket Shield?

As the CD Stags show here, playing red-ball cricket in whites is the cornerstone of any format of the country's No 1 summer sport. Photo/NZME

Okay it's time to pull out the worry beads and start threading them while muttering a meaningful mantra under the breath, even though the adulteration of domestic cricket won't start until October next year.

The recital, carrying a solemn message, can chorus to something like this: "Please, NZ Cricket, save our summer game and give us reasons to keep complete faith in you."

If speculation that first-class cricket in New Zealand is about to undergo a renaissance of sorts before the summer of 2018-19 comes around then it's fair to assume four-day cricket will be buried six-feet under and, dare I say it, will require a miracle of Lazarus proportions far beyond four days to bring back to life.

The gospel, reportedly according to New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White, is that the Plunket Shield competition that involves the six major association men's teams may be tailored from its 10, two-round home-and-away format to possibly just one round.

It appears the overriding reason, which no one can argue with, is that the shield format leaves NZ Cricket $5 million poorer for a ritual that is, season in, season out, played out in virtually empty stadiums.

That was painfully obvious more than a decade ago, albeit amid an air of arrogance - as most professional codes tend to have these days - that as long as the sponsors cough up cash with the seasonal injection from NZ Cricket's coffers then who cares if the neighbourhood mongrel strays on to the wicket during a drinks break to lifts its leg to piddle on the stumps.

But it's pointless dwelling on the myopic flaws of yesteryear and focusing on what can be done to address issues threatening the longer format of the country's No 1 summer sport.

The burning question is what sort of price is NZ Cricket prepared to put on red-ball cricket?

Sure, expending $5 million is offensive no matter what dialect one uses.

But is it that big a price to pay for grooming the future of tomorrow's Ross Taylors and Kane Williamsons.

Shield cricket is where youngsters learn to occupy the Gaza Strip of cricket.

It's where the red-stained whites become a testimonial for mastering line and length and extracting the qualities of swing and seam.

First-class cricket is where the young minds build a sense of fortitude because they may well be suitably equipped with rules and skills but not the exceptions that only time on the crease can teach.

NZ Cricket, in making whatever decision it deems fit for everyone, will have to be mindful that when the generations of pliable minds yearn for crease time New Zealand will pay the price in the international arena.

No matter what, there's no substitute for actual game time.

The longer formats of the game, including test cricket, will always dictate how good cricketers will be in any format.

The seduction of the white-ball formats and the trappings that come with them are undeniable but NZ Cricket must not lose sight of the blueprint.

Shield cricket should always be the format of choice in moulding the template of tomorrow's Black Caps.

Failing to recognise that will mean preparing for a West Indies type of calamity - the Calypso Kings of yesteryear failed to make the cut to the ICC Champions Trophy in England several weeks ago.

Whether there are two World T20s, a limited-overs World Cup and a couple of test tournaments shouldn't dictate the domestic schedules - again for the simple reason that the longer format is sacrosanct to progress.

A one-size, fits-all progeny to find the "right mix" may suit the needs of the Players' Association during re-negotiations for another master agreement but from where I'm sitting it looks frighteningly like a Hail Mary pass in the dying minutes of a game.

Now here's the red herring - Australian ball manufacturers Kookaburra have a season to shine their ball in the face of the swing from the English Dukes.

Does that mean NZ Cricket is about to stymie the careers of generations of seam bowlers to cater to a couple of swing merchants as well as make other Duke users feel at home on New Zealand soil?

It's almost as odd as announcing plans for a major overhaul in cricket at the start of the Mitre 10 Cup rugby in winter.

Standardised drop-in wickets are already in place nationally for uniformity so is it fair to assume we're rapidly gravitating towards processed cricket.

Here's my 10c worth. Each team can have a choice to play a Kookaburra and/or Duke/other ball in each innings based on their bowling strength.

Batsmen will become more savvy but who's to say first-class cricket won't mutate to a three-day format or 110-over English-style, result-driven affair.

That Black Caps left-hand test opener Jeet Raval, who is a linchpin for the Auckland Aces in the white-ball format, is the only poster boy of domestic cricket is debatable but also resounding evidence of how long it takes to produce quality batsmen in a country that looks anaemic in that department.

What do you attribute the rise of the George Workers, Will Youngs and Seth Rances to?

Ditto the White Ferns whose batting shortcomings were exposed in the women's one-day World Cup in England.

Is that also because women's domestic cricket has become a victim of white-ball cricket?

Considering men's A team tours of the subcontinents, though, is laudable and long overdue from spinners' perspective.