New Zealand Cricket announces contracted players for 2009-10

 New Zealand Cricket has released the list of 20 players to be offered International Playing Agreements for the year 1 August 2009 to 31 July 2010.
The players, in alphabetical order, are:
Brent Arnel
Shane Bond
Neil Broom
Ian Butler
Grant Elliott
James Franklin
Daniel Flynn
Martin Guptill
Gareth Hopkins
Brendon McCullum
Tim McIntosh
Chris Martin
Kyle Mills
Iain O’Brien
Jacob Oram
Jeetan Patel
Jesse Ryder
Tim Southee
Ross Taylor
Daniel Vettori
Arnel, Broom, Butler, Elliott, Guptill and McIntosh are offered contracts for the first time this year. Shane Bond regains a central contract after being unavailable last year due to his ICL involvement.

Players included in last year’s list who are not contracted for 2009-10 include Peter Fulton, Mark Gillespie, Jamie How, James Marshall, Michael Mason, Aaron Redmond and Scott Styris.

Contracts are awarded to the 20 players assessed as likely to have the greatest value to the BLACKCAPS over the coming 12 month period.

More than 30 players were ranked by the New Zealand selectors against set criteria relating to limited overs and Test cricket. A weighting of 1.25 applies to Test rankings, and 1.0 to limited overs rankings.

The 20 players with the highest aggregate score are offered international playing contracts by NZC.

NZC General Manager Cricket, Geoff Allott, said the emergence of a number of new players as contenders for central contracts was a feature of the process.

“The list reflects the way players like Guptill, McIntosh, Elliott, Broom and Butler have already demonstrated their value at international level,” he said.

Head of the selection panel, Glenn Turner, said Martin Guptill was an example of a player with outstanding promise. “He has played his way into being considered a core squad member,” Turner said. His ODI average is already ahead of other leading players, and for his age shows the promise of more to come.

“Shane Bond is confident he can continue to contribute to the BLACKCAPS. He has performed well in the shorter form of the game at domestic level – while his international track record is outstanding.”

Of those who had missed out on contracts, Turner said Fulton, Styris, How and Redmond had been in close contention for places, but their performances had not been strong enough to force their way into the top 20.
Daryl Tuffey was close to a contract spot after strong domestic performances, and is likely to be in contention for national selection, Turner said. He also mentioned Craig Cumming and Peter McGlashan as recent BLACKCAPS who were close to the top 20.

“Some experienced players have missed out as a result of new players forcing their way into the top twenty – and that’s a good sign for the game.

“Players who have missed out on contracts have the opportunity to play their way into the BLACKCAPS in the domestic season, or through the A team and Emerging Players tours, and most can expect to pick up leading contracts with Major Associations,” Turner said.