New Zealand, Women Players
Jess Watkin of New Zealand has received a central contract. Image Courtesy: Getty

New Zealand Cricket offered new contracts to 15 women players on Thursday. There were as many as four new entries on the list.

However, established batswoman, Rachael Priest missed out on an annual contract. Meanwhile, Jess Watkin, Hayley Jensen, Kate Ebrahim and Bernadine Bezuidenhout are the new additions who made it to the list for the very first time.

Rachael Priest
Veteran New Zealand batswoman, Rachael Priest didn’t get an annual contract. Image Courtesy: Getty

New Zealand is looking to nurture the likes of Watkin who is a brilliant young player. She showed her potential during her debut T20I clash against Ireland, as she made a stunning 77. The youngster also made an impact quite immediately by bagging six wickets from as many ODI’s. Moreover, she was quite impressive in New Zealand’s tour of Ireland and England.

“It really is a dream come true to be offered my first full-time professional contract,” Watkin said.

 

“Getting a taste of international cricket in Ireland and England left me wanting more. It’s awesome that I’ll now be able to train and play all year round,” she further added.

Meanwhile, the likes of Thamsyn Newton and Anna Peterson also missed out on the annual contracts along with Priest. The veteran cricketer has been out of the T20I squad for quite a while now. She just managed to score a below par 440 runs in 19 ODI’s in the last two sessions. The average if 23.18 was quite poor considering the stature of the player.

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New Zealand also named many regular players 

Some of the regular names which made the annual contract included the likes of skipper Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine, Lea Tahuhu and Amy Satterthwaite among others.

Meanwhile, New Zealand Cricket has chalked out a plan to run men’s and women’s cricket simultaneously from 2018-2022.

However, it is just for the time being that the players have been offered the contract. It is learned that the players have to accept the contract by 6th August.

Full list: Suzie Bates, Bernadine Bezuidenhout, Sophie Devine, Kate Ebrahim, Maddy Green, Holly Huddleston, Hayley Jensen, Leigh Kasperek, Amelia Kerr, Katey Martin, Katie Perkins, Hannah Rowe, Amy Satterthwaite, Lea Tahuhu, Jess Watkin.

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