16th Contracts Announced for Major Associations

The New Zealand major associations have released their 16th contracts for the 2023/24 season. Yahya Zeb, Peter Bocock, Curtis Heaphy, Jesse Tashkoff, Rhys Mariu and Ollie White have all been awarded with the contracts.

Yahya Zeb is a 19-year-old pace bowler who plays for Eden Roskill in Auckland. Zeb played in three Auckland A games during the 2022/23 summer taking 0 wickets in the T20 game, 1 in the One Day game and 2 in the three-dayer.

Peter Bocock has played all three formats for the Northern Districts side, but only played two T20s last summer, scoring 19* in the one game he batted in. Bocock averages 21.05 in the First Class arena and has made one fifty. He has also made three 50s in the 50 over format and averages 23.17 across the 20 innings he has batted in. With Tim Seifert being selected for the Black Caps, Bocock may find himself getting more game time!

Central Stags opener, Curtis Heaphy, has been awarded their sixteenth contract. He made his debut last summer making 43 and 80 on debut, sharing a 177 run partnership with Brad Schmulian in the second innings.

He also made 50 against Auckland in the final game of the season, with the Stags going on to win the title. Heaphy will be looking forward to growing his skillset this summer and pushing for selection in all three formats with the likes of Ma’ara Ave and Ben Smith not getting a contract for this summer.

Jesse Tashkoff makes the step up after being awarded the 16th contract for the Wellington side.

Tashkoff has played just one game of professional cricket, making his debut in the first class scene last summer at Mainpower Oval, Rangiora.

He also represented the New Zealand Development team against the Netherlands at McLean Park, playing in the two fifty over games. He made 19 from 33 in the first game and 16 from 23 in the next. Tashkoff bowled four overs on debut for Wellington, but didn’t take a wicket. He also scored 28 runs across the two innings.

Canterbury opener Rhys Mariu has been awarded the final contract in the rota for the Kings this season. Mariu played 4 FC games last summer scoring 405 runs at an average of 57.85 and had a high score of 112. In the 8 innings he played, he made 3 half centuries and a century.

Mariu also played in the Ford Trophy Final, scoring 24 from 25 on debut. Mariu will be looking forward to once again opening the batting this season and pushing for a debut in the T20 side.

Ollie White has been announced as the player given the final contract for the 2023/24 summer. White has played for the New Zealand U19 side and also was in the Dubai Capitals squad for the ILT20 for the competition earlier this year, but did not play. In the 2020 Under 19 World Cup, White opened the batting for Aotearoa and had a high score of 80 against Japan.