New Zealand Cricket Board has signed four new players to their first Black Caps central contracts
New Zealand Cricket Board has signed four new players to their first Black Caps central contracts, while two experienced spinners are among those who will miss out on contracts for next season. Those who were contracted last season but have been left out are:
Canterbury keeper-batsman Mitch Hay, Wellington all-rounder Mohammad Abbas, Canterbury fast bowler Zach Foulkes and Auckland leg-spinner Adi Ashok have all secured their first central contracts.Hay, 24, struck an unbeaten 99 off 78 balls to anchor New Zealand’s ODI innings against Pakistan earlier this year, and also set a world record with six dismissals in a T20I during his debut tour in Sri Lanka in November.
Twenty one year-old Wellington allrounder Muhammad Abbas smashed a record-breaking 52 off 26 balls on his ODI debut against Pakistan in March, setting the fastest fifty on debut in men’s ODIs.
Foulkes, 22, made his T20I debut for the Blackcaps against Pakistan last year, stepping in for the injured Adam Milne and impressing with his all-round skills. He made his ODI debut in November.
Ashok, 22, returned to the ODI squad earlier this year after making his debut in 2023, and most recently grabbed with a five wicket haul in New Zealand A’s win over Bangladesh A at Sylhet.
The Black Caps next assignment is a two-Test tour of Zimbabwe in July and August.
Full list of players centrally contracted for 2025-26: Adithya Ashok, Michael Bracewell, Tom Blundell, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Mitch Hay, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Muhammad Abbas, Henry Nicholls, William O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Will Young
