All-rounder Colin de Grandhomme, batsmen Neil Broom and Jeet Raval have been named in the 21-player roster of New Zealand’s centrally-contracted players for 2017-18.
The three players, contracted by New Zealand cricket for the first time, replace the now-retired Luke Ronchi, injury-troubled off-spinner Mark Craig and Doug Bracewell.
Selector Gavin Larsen said all three players were deserving of their central contracts following productive spells for the national team in the 12 monts. “Colin made a breakthrough last summer and is rated well in all three formats; Jeet’s test numbers speak for themselves, and Neil, as well as averaging 43 in ODI cricket (with a strike-rate of 90) since his recall, is also seen as viable cover for the test team’s middle-order,” Larsen said.
Fast bowler Bracewell’s omission was a combination of injury and on-field performance. The 26-year-old picked up a knee injury in December that effectively ended his season. The 27-Test bowler was also involved in an episode of drink-driving, which earned him a penalty of 100 hours of community service.
“Doug is still viewed very positively by the selectors and has a big year in front of him in terms of bouncing back from his injury and proving his worth,” Larsen said. “It’s been a difficult time for him since the knee injury but we’re all hopeful he’ll make a full and sustainable recovery.”
Off-spinner Craig’s omission was more straightforward given he played only a solitary Test match, versus India in Kanpur, during the past 12 months. Jeetan Patel, the 37-year-old spinner, who made a surprising return to the national team in that series in India, was not considered for a contract offer after he joined Ronchi in international retirement.
“It was agreed the time was right for Jeetan to focus on Warwickshire, so as to allow plenty of opportunity for others to stake their claims ahead of the 2019 ICC World Cup,” Larsen said. “We enjoyed having Jeetan’s experience and skill over recent times but we’re into a new cycle now; it’s two years out from the ICC CWC, and we’re committed to bringing other players through.”
While BJ Watling is the only wicket-keeper in the list, the likes of Tom Blundell, Glenn Phillips and Tim Seifert are expected to push their claims for an annual retainer of their own in the following cycle. Other notable players to miss out on the contract were Lockie Ferguson, Tom Bruce, Hamish Bennett, Dean Brownlie, Todd Astle and Anton Devcich.
New Zealand’s cricketers are ranked across all three forms of the game by a set criteria, with Tests receiving twice the weighting of One Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals.
New Zealand Cricket contracted players for 2017-18: Kane Williamson, Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Neil Broom, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Jeet Raval, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling, George Worker.
