Jeet Raval, Colin de Grandhomme the new entrants in NZC contracts

The New Zealand Cricket (NZC) announced the names of 21 players to have received the central contracts for the 2017-18 season. Indian origin batsman Jeet Raval, all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme, and middle order batsman Neil Broom are the three new entrants in the list. The three players have replaced Luke Ronchi, Mark Craig, and Doug Bracewell.

Ronchi’s omission was obvious since he recently retired from all forms of international cricket. On the other hand, it was the recent poor form and injury scares that put Doug Bracewell out of contention for the contract. The chief selector Gavin Larsen noted that things have been tough for Bracewell ever since his return to cricket after an injury layoff. He continues to be in the scheme of things for team New Zealand.

“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,” the selector quoted. Meanwhile, the exclusion of Mark Craig also seemed very direct and legit since he had only played one Test in the period of last 12 months.

Larsen conceded that the team is keen on building a core group of players keeping the 2019 World Cup in mind. They want newer players to come through the ranks and join the core group. Commenting on the three new entrants, the chief selector remarked that the numbers and stats of the three players speak volumes about their talent.

“Colin de Grandhomme 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 quoted.

As per stuff.co.nz, Captain Kane Williamson is expected to be top-ranked for a third straight year and receives a $50,000 captain’s fee on top. Retainers will increase slightly on last season’s which were $205,266 for Williamson at No 1, dropping in increments to $83,498 for those ranked 18-21. Last season’s match fees were $8495 per test, $3682 per ODI and $2407 per T20.

NZC 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.

In: Neil Broom, Colin de Grandhomme, Jeet Raval.

Out: Doug Bracewell, Mark Craig, Luke Ronchi (retired).