New Zealand Cricket has revealed its contract offers to the top 20 players for the 2023/24 season and it's great news for Central Stags BLAIR TICKNER and WILL YOUNG who have both been retained on the national professional roster for another summer.

It's not such glad tidings however for star spinner AJAZ PATEL who was a contracted BLACKCAPS player last season, but has dropped off the NZC contract list for the coming season after having barely been played in the Tests last summer.

Fast bowler and former Stag ADAM MILNE has meanwhile been offered an NZC BLACKCAPS contract for the first time in five years.

Milne’s elevation to the list is off the back of his most productive international season in which he appeared 16 times for the BLACKCAPS (in 11 T20Is and five ODIs), claiming 24 wickets - including a career-best 5/26 in the second T20I against Sri Lanka which was the third best T20I haul by any New Zealander.

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The 31-year-old originally from Palmerston North made his international debut way back in 2010 when he was still a fresh face in the Stags, and switched to representing Wellington ahead of last summer where he and and his partner have been based for a number of years.

BLACKCAPS coach Gary Stead said, “Adam’s worked exceptionally hard and has shown good resilience over the past few years to be in a position to earn this contract offer.

"He’s always been a top-class bowler, and we were impressed by his consistent contributions in the recent home summer and tour of Pakistan.”

Stags paceman Tickner received his first BLACKCAPS contract at the start of last summer, after Trent Boult and Colin de Grandhomme had both declined contract renewals.

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The 29-year-old from Hawke's Bay has since gone on to add a Test debut to his T20i and ODI caps, the red-ball debut coming against England at Mount Maunganui in February, and Tickner also playing Test cricket against Sri Lanka later that summer.

With his big heart and ability of bowl a heavy ball, Tickner now has 12 Test wickets, 16 ODI wickets and 19 T20i wickets from his international career while Young has 582 Test runs (including six half centuries), 592 ODI runs (including two centuries and three half centuries) and 204 T20i runs (one half century) from his appearances over the last few seasons.

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The next step in the annual contracting process is for all the players offered contracts today to either accept or decline their offers, and meanwhile the six Major Associations - including Central Districts - begin the process of finalising and offering 2023/24 Domestic contracts to players not already on the BLACKCAPS' list. Those contracts will be announced in due course.

Trent Boult declined an NZC contract again this year, but has committed to being available for the BLACKCAPS for part of the playing programme and, on that basis, has been offered a casual playing agreement by NZC.

Players have until 12 June to accept or decline their contract offers.

2023/24 BLACKCAPS CONTRACT OFFERS

Central Stags

Blair Tickner, Will Young

Wellington Firebirds

Finn Allen, Tom Blundell, Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway, Adam Milne

Northern Districts

Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Kane Williamson

Canterbury

Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Ish Sodhi

Auckland Aces

Mark Chapman, Lockie Ferguson, Kyle Jamieson

Otago Volts

Glenn Phillips

Article added: Thursday 08 June 2023