Consistency in 2024/25 Men's Domestic Contract Offers

Auckland:

Auckland’s contract list features three new faces on the list with Bevon-John Jacobs, Jock McKenzie, and Mike Sclanders having all been offered contracts for the 2024/25 season.

All three players have played List A cricket before, Sclanders (2023) and McKenzie (2023 represented the Aces, whilst Jacobs played in eight List A games for Canterbury last season.

Jacobs, originally from Pretoria, South Africa moved to Auckland when he was three, representing Westlake Boys High School before attending Lincoln University and playing club cricket for Sydenham Cricket Club making 178 runs in one match.

On his domestic debut for Canterbury, he shone against Auckland with a quickfire 42 from 20, before being bowled by Jimmy Neesham. Playing 8 Ford Trophy games and 9 Super Smash fixtures, he got a taste of what is expected at the domestic level.

Sclanders, also moved from South Africa, but has played in South Africa’s List A and First Class domestic competition representing KwaZulu-Natal Inland. His debut for Auckland came in 2023 against Canterbury at Hagley Oval where he took three catches.

McKenzie has come off a solid domestic season for Auckland, and has been rewarded with a contract for the first time. His T20 debut as he took figures of 3/31 against Otago at Eden Park. It however wasn’t his appearance on the park, having played in the Bunnings NPC for Auckland where he played four games, and also made two appearances for the Auckland Blues away to Moana Pasifika and the New South Wales Waratahs.

McKenzie also took two wickets on his List A debut and scored a valuable 74* against Otago on his maiden Plunket Shield innings. He has a solid first class average of 41 to go along with 12 wickets in the two white ball formats.

The rest of Auckland’s squad is pretty standard with last summer, with the team looking to defend their Super Smash title crown, and potentially take out the List A trophy, which they lost to Canterbury in the final last summer.

NZ Cricket Super Smash Men’s Player of the Year, Danru Ferns will lead the pace-bowling attack alongside Blackcaps representative Ben Lister. Harjot Johal, Simon Keene, Matt Gibson will provide assistance throughout the summer, along with the all-round seam of Sean Solia.

Adi Ashok and Louis Delport retain their spots on the contract offers list with Ashok returning from an injury that kept him from playing after the Bangladesh tour, where he made his ODI debut in.

Seasoned player, George Worker, will once again play for the Aces with Will O’Donnell and Cam Fletcher also providing experience in a side that lost long-serving player and captain Robbie O’Donnell to Northern Districts.

Quinn Sunde retains his spot, and will be looking to add to his seven first-class games.

Adi Ashok, Louis Delport, Danru Ferns, Cam Fletcher, Matt Gibson, Bevon-John Jacobs, Harjot Johal, Simon Keene, Ben Lister, Jock McKenzie, Will O’Donnell, Mike Sclanders, Sean Solia, Quinn Sunde, George Worker.

Northern Districts:

There are plenty of changes in the Northern Districts contract list, with a couple experienced players in Tim Seifert and Scott Kuggelijn taking casual contracts, and therefore will not be available for the Super Smash as they take on franchise opportunities overseas.

Robbie O’Donnell and Neil Wagner, do however, bring plenty of experience to the side from their times at the Auckland Aces and the Blackcaps respectively.

All-rounders Fergus Lellman, and Josh Brown, join wicket-keeper batter Ben Pomare as three other new names to the Northern Districts contracting list. All three featured in the final game of the 2021/22 season, alongside four other players, with Covid-19 sweeping through the main players in their side.

Lellman has played a further two first class games, both in the 2022/23 season and has scored 60 runs whilst taking three wickets with the ball. He also featured for the New Zealand Under-19 side in 2019 and 2020, playing in the matches against Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and then at the U-19 World Cup in 2020.

Brown on the other hand, has played just the one first class fixture, and also featured in the teams last List A game of the 2023/24 season making his debut against Canterbury at Hagley Oval. Pomare featured in this game as well, playing as the wicket-keeper.

Seasoned domestic players such as Jeet Raval, Bharat Popli, and Joe Carter all feature on the contract list. Raval was a true leader of the T20 side, and led them to victories in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 campaigns.

Hard hitting all-rounder Brett Hampton is another player that will look to dominate this summer for the men in maroon, after a massive 2023/24 season where he made 899 runs across all three formats, including maiden List A (126*) and First Class (100*) centuries.

Freddy Walker will lead the spin attack, after the losses of Tim Pringle who is having surgery over the winter, and his brother Joe Walker, who has opted to take a casual contract due to work commitments. Henry Cooper has a potential to offer some part-time spin option if needed as well, especially with Seddon Park’s known ability to spin friendly at times.

After a dismal 2023/24 campaign, Katene Clarke does retain his spot on the contracting list along with the seam bowling options of Krisitan Clarke, who is not related to Katene, and Scott Johnston.

Ben Pomare, Bharat Popli, Brett Hampton, Fergus Lellman, Freddy Walker, Henry Cooper, Jeet Raval, Joe Carter, Josh Brown, Katene Clarke, Kristian Clarke, Matthew Fisher, Neil Wagner, Robbie O'Donnell, Scott Johnston.

Central Districts:

The men in green, have made very little changes to their side for this summer, however, they did release the 13 offers with the remaining players to be revealed over the coming fortnight according to Central Districts cricket.

Will Clark and Curtis Heaphy were both youngsters that shone last season, and have been well rewarded with offers for the coming season. Heaphy made his maiden First Class century, going big at Fitzherbert Park with 131 from 328 balls against the Wellington Firebirds.

Clark has built a strong reliable reputation with both the ball and the bat. Whilst he only played one First Class match, he did have a strong performance with 123 runs across the two innings. His List A form was also good with the bat, making 264 runs with a maiden 50 to go alongside it. Clark proved an option with the ball, taking ten wickets across all three formats.

Jack Boyle got his chance last summer in the T20 side and made 57 on T20 debut for the Stags against Wellington at the Basin Reserve. He also made 72 against Canterbury in the Plunket Shield, helping save the Central Stags from a loss at Napier’s McLean Park.

Central’s key players in Doug Bracewell, Tom Bruce, Josh Clarkson, Blair Tickner and Dane Cleaver all feature on the contract list again. For a team that has always been strong across all three formats, it is usually done to these four shining.

Spinner Jayden Lennox will lead the attack in that department, and all-rounder Brad Schmulian, who made two Ford Trophy centuries last season will be looking to contribute as well with the ball. When not on Blackcaps duty, Ajaz Patel is likely to be of assistance.

The seam attack is led by Bracewell and Tickner, but Ray Toole, Joey Field, and Brett Randell will all be looking to add some spice to the attack. Both Field and Randell faced injury issues last summer, so will surely be wanting to make the coming season a bit more memorable.

It is clear that the Central Stags have gone with a side that has worked in the past, and will clearly be looking to fine tune those last three contracts to make a winning team.

Jack Boyle, Doug Bracewell, Tom Bruce, Will Clark, Josh Clarkson, Dane Cleaver, Joey Field, Curtis Heaphy, Jayden Lennox, Brett Randell, Brad Schmulian, Blair Tickner, Ray Toole.

Otago

Consistency is key in Otago with only Hamish Rutherford and Ollie White dropping out of the contract offer list with one name still to be recognised.

Jamal Todd has been given his first contract after a season in the Plunket Shield where he averaged 19.4 scoring one 50 while taking 5 catches and a wicket in the process. This could be a more developmental contract with a potential to go back up north to Auckland.

Leo Carter has decided to pack his bags from Canterbury and move further down south to Otago for this upcoming season. While averaging around 30 in List A and First Class scoring five 100’s his strike rate has stayed at a low 120 in T20 cricket. It seems like a logical pickup for Otago gaining valuable experience while also adding another middle order batsmen to their solid lineup.

Jacob Cumming made his List A debut last season averaging about 20 with a high score of 46. He has been clinical in the slips scoring himself 28 catches in 23 matches both in List A and First Class. He is starting to build on his skill set however he needs one good season to get him off and going.

Dale Phillips was key in the last season of the Plunket Shield scoring the most runs in the competition with 686. However his form in the white ball formats was lacklustre averaging 12 in T20s with 30 in the Ford Trophy. Improvements need to be made however the 25 year old is making steps to becoming a Blackcap like his older brother Glenn.

Otago’s bowlers have been horrid over the past few seasons and it doesn’t help that it looks like Jacob Duffy will be playing for the Blackcaps more. Jarrod McKay doesn’t look up to the standard of domestic cricket along with Travis Muller and Andrew Hazeldine not being able to front line an attack. Matt Bacon will be in for a lot more First Class cricket. Luke Georgeson and Jake Gibson will be the backups when it comes to bowling excessive amounts of overs.

Dean Foxcroft has vacated the Volts captaincy after an underwhelming season however Otago has lost so many games after a poor batting performance so it can’t all be blamed on him. An improvement in the batting department could be the difference between a finals appearance and the 5th or 6th place finish that everyone has become accustomed to.

Can the Volts win their first trophy since 2012-13 or will the team add to the current 11 season drought of a trophy.

Matt Bacon, Leo Carter, Max Chu, Jacob Cumming , Dean Foxcroft, Luke Georgeson, Jake Gibson, Andrew Hazeldine, Llew Johnson, Ben Lockrose, Jarrod McKay, Travis Muller, Thorn Parkes, Dale Phillips, Jamal Todd.

Canterbury:

Canterbury have been set up with a contracts list that doesn’t change much with Leo Carter leaving to Otago with Matt Rowe getting pinched from CD after a standout ICC U-19 World Cup in South Africa.

Leo Carter leaving to move further south is a sting after 10 seasons worth of experience with the side. Obviously Bevon-John Jacobs moving to Auckland after a standout Super Smash has helped Matt Boyle stay in the contract offers list after below average performances last season.

Matt Rowe will help bolster the bowling stocks of the Association with 8 wickets in the U-19 World Cup while also taking 6 wickets in the U-19 National Tournament. He is a bright prospect however Canterbury will need to ensure they retain him after finishing his studies.

The rest of the side remains pretty consistent with Will O’Rourke getting promoted to an NZC deal with no other changes.

Mitch Hay looked brilliant in the Plunket Shield scoring 562 runs while also scoring 170 in the Super Smash and 257 in the Ford Trophy. He also took 40 catches behind the stumps in all competitions. It’s just a matter of time until he plays for the Blackcaps.

Henry Nicholls seemed to flick the switch in the domestic game scoring 1,088 runs in all formats combined last season while captain Cole McConchie 880 runs in all formats. Chad Bowes has also remained consistent in all formats scoring 900 runs in all formats, these players show why Canterbury’s top-middle order will be a force to be reckoned with even after Carter leaving.

Zak Foulkes has been the leading bowler of the Canterbury side in all 3 formats over the past season scoring 59 wickets off his bowling last season while keeping a tidy average of around 20 in all formats. He needs to continue this if Canterbury continues this hot streak. However Foulkes did make his Blackcaps debut vs Pakistan earlier this year and there is potential they may lose him again this year.

Michael Rae and Michael Rippon, the former Otago lads, took 39 and 35 wickets each respectively last summer. With Will O’Rourke not being available as much they will need to step up to support the rest of their deep bowling attack.

Canterbury need to continue their consistency and they’ve shown that in their contract offers list.

Chad Bowes, Matt Boyle, Sean Davey, Zak Foulkes, Mitch Hay, Rhys Mariu, Kenny McClure, Cole McConchie, Angus McKenzie, Edward Nuttall, Michael Rae, Michael Rippon, Matt Rowe, Fraser Sheat, Henry Shipley.

Wellington:

Wellington are on the front foot after only losing Adam Milne who didn’t play much for them with Ben Sears and Rachin Ravindra who already had limited game time pick up an NZC contract. This opens up an extra spot for them to give another player contract a comment.

Liam Dudding has made the move from Central Districts to attempt to get more game time with limited opportunities over the past few years; it seems great for all parties apart from CD.

Troy Johnson seems lucky to get a contract highly leaning on his Ford Trophy record averaging just over 40 scoring 333 runs.

Muhammad Abbas has grown into the side quickly after playing in a starring role in the 2022/23 end of season Plunket Shield matches. Averaging 45 in the Plunket Shield last season was a clear step in the right direction.

Greenwood and Severin shone last season after being rewarded with their first domestic contract offer last season. Severin was the 2nd highest run scorer in the Plunket Shield last season with 657 runs and Greenwood scoring 388 runs. However in other competitions they were underwhelming.

Nick Kelly continued to lead the way as captain scoring over 1100 runs in all 3 formats last season. McLachlan wasn’t the greatest behind the stumps while also not scoring as many runs as his peers, however it was good enough to be retained.

Nathan Smith led the way in wickets scoring 57 wickets across all formats last season while keeping up with the bat. Peter Younghusband also scored 50 wickets over the last season and he will look to keep that up at the ripe old age of 34.

Jesse Tashkoff played sporadically last season and he will look to push from more game time in this stacked Wellington side. This also goes for Iain McPeake as he only scored 7 wickets last summer. James Hartshorn will also look to improve on last season also getting 7 wickets in 5 matches last season.

Wellington will look to push for more after falling in the eliminator final in the Super Smash while also coming 6th in the Ford Trophy. They will look to stay on top and defend the Plunket Shield this upcoming season.

Muhammad Abbas, Liam Dudding, Nick Greenwood, James Hartshorn, Troy Johnson, Nick Kelly, Callum McLachlan, Iain McPeake, Tim Robinson, Gareth Severin, Michael Snedden, Nathan Smith, Jesse Tashkoff, Logan van Beek, Peter Younghusband.