Todd Astle is the newest entrant as NZC announce contract list

On Tuesday, New Zealand Cricket announced the new contract list which is to be effective from 1st August. The list includes 20 Kiwi players with leg-spinner Todd Astle was the only new entry to the list. On the other hand, a couple of players like Jimmy Neesham and Neil Broom were removed as compared to previous year.

The likes of George Worker, Corey Anderson and Jeet Raval continued to stay on the list. New Zealand selector Gavin Larsen spoke about Todd Astle’s progress and their spin bowling resources. He also spoke on the exclusion of Neesham and Broom from the contracted player’s list.

Todd made most of his opportunities in both the formats 

The Kiwi coach was excited to see Todd’s progress over the last 12 months. Gavin asserted how the leg-spinner had grabbed the opportunities he got. Looking forward to the Pakistan series, he was confident of the spin attack also comprising Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner.

“Todd’s progress over the past year has been exciting to see. When fit, he made the most of his opportunities in both Test and ODI cricket. We have a big summer ahead. We also have a spin-friendly tour against Pakistan coming up. Between Todd, Ish and Mitchell, our spin bowling stocks have probably never looked better.” He was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

We will continue to monitor the progress of fringe players 

Owing to poor performances, Jimmy Neesham and Neil Broom have been left out of the contract. Larsen stated that all wasn’t over for them and their domestic performances would be evaluated. He looked forward to players proving a point at the home season.

“Jimmy and Neil didn’t show the consistency required over the past year. We’d like to see them go back and demand our attention again through domestic performance. We’ll continue to monitor the progress of a number of fringe players, who will have the chance to continue to push their case through the NZA programme and home domestic season.”

List of contracted players

Corey Anderson, Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Henry Nicholls, Jeet Raval, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson, George Worker.

Stay updated on ‘today’s cricket news‘ with CricTracker.com.