After a five-year absence, New Zealand fast bowler Adam Milne has re-signed with New Zealand Cricket under a central contract. The 31-year-old player, who played in 16 white-ball matches for the nation’s squad last season, has impressed the panel of judges to be awarded the NZC 2023-24 contract and is now a potential candidate for the forthcoming ODI World Cup which is set to take place in India next year.
Gary Stead, Coach of the NZ, praised Milne’s resilience and work, stating, “Adam’s exceptionally hard work and resilience in recent years have earned him this contract offer. He has always been a top-class bowler, and we were impressed by his consistent performances during the recent home summer and the tour of Pakistan.”
The left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel is notably missing from the 20-man contract list announced by the New Zealand Cricket Board for the 2023–24 season. Patel played in just two Tests and no white-ball games last year, yet he owns the title of being just the third bowler in Test cricket’s history to take all ten wickets in an innings.
Boult, Guptill left out of the NZC 2023-24 Contract
The contact list also does not include veteran bowler Trent Boult, Martin Guptill, and Colin de Grandhomme. These players had requested to be removed from their New Zealand Cricket contracts so they could play in franchise cricket across the world more frequently. Boult was offered a casual playing agreement as a result of his commitment to be available for the Black Caps for a particular time frame of the season, according to NZC.
Following players were given central contracts for the 2023–24 season: Finn Allen, Tom Blundell, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Blair Tickner, Neil Wagner, Kane Williamson, and Will Young.
Adam Milne will be given an opportunity to make a contribution more to New Zealand’s cricket success in the coming year and possibly play for the country in the much-awaited ODI World Cup in India now since his contract has been renewed.
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