New Zealand Cricket today announced the twenty players to be offered BLACKCAPS contracts for the year until July 31, 2010.
The players are:
Brent Arnel
Grant Elliott
Martin Guptill
Gareth Hopkins
Chris Martin
Brendon McCullum
Nathan McCullum
Tim McIntosh
Andy McKay
Kyle Mills
Jacob Oram
Jeetan Patel
Jesse Ryder
Tim Southee
Scott Styris
Ross Taylor
Daryl Tuffey
Daniel Vettori
B.J. Watling
Kane Williamson
Twenty five players are ranked by the selectors against set criteria in respect of Test cricket, ODI cricket and Twenty20 internationals. There is a weighting for each form of the game and the 20 players with the highest aggregate score are then offered NZC contracts.
Nathan McCullum, Andy McKay, B.J. Watling and Kane Williamson are the newcomers to the contracted players list; Scott Styris has returned after missing a contract last year and Daryl Tuffey has remained on the list after being reinstated last year following the retirement of Iain O’Brien.
Neil Broom, Ian Butler, Daniel Flynn and James Franklin have missed out on contracts this year.
“Nathan, Andy and B.J. have all made important contributions to New Zealand teams over the past 12 months without having central contracts,” said national selection panel spokesman, Mark Greatbatch.
“They have now earned their positions within the contracted players list.
“Kane Williamson is a young player whose pedigree is impeccable in terms of cricket development and we are now confident that he can step into the international arena and further advance his game,” he said.
Players who have missed out on contracts can play their way into the BLACKCAPS through domestic performances and can expect to pick up Major Association contracts, said Greatbatch.
Negotiations towards a new Master Agreement between New Zealand Cricket, the New Zealand Cricket Players Association and the six Major Associations are still ongoing but progressing well. The parties have agreed in good faith to put in place an interim contracting arrangement for those players being offered BLACKCAPS contracts this year. These players will operate under the terms and conditions of the previous Master Agreement until the 31 August, 2010, or the ratification of a new Master Agreement, whichever is the sooner.
