Ocean new face in Hinds squad
Wairarapa teenager Bartlett earns contract
Up and coming Wairarapa teenager Ocean Bartlett has received a contract to play for the Central Hinds in the first round of roster appointments by Central Districts Cricket.
Bartlett, 19, is the only new face on the contracts list, while fellow CD Under-19 all-rounder and Central Hind Ashtuti Kumar, from Palmerston North, regains a contract after having missed out last season.
The pair has already represented the Hinds in the Dream11 Super Smash, with Bartlett having debuted in January 2021. Bartlett has also captained the New Zealand Ma¯ori Secondary Schools team and, along with Kumar, was integral to Central Districts winning the women’s NZC Under-19 national title for the second time in three summers last season.
Fiji-born Kumar made her Super Smash debut whilst still at school in 2019, and has played in the one-day Hallyburton Johnstone Shield for the Hinds since February 2020.
Also returning to the contracted list this season is Nelson swing bowler Claudia Green.
A fringe White Fern who has made two tours to the UK with the national side but is yet to gain an international cap, the promising Green was last season centrally contracted by New Zealand Cricket (NZC) on a development contract. That category has now been discontinued by NZC as the women’s domestic contract environment is strengthened.
The 2022/23 season is the first in which New Zealand’s six Major Associations can offer 12 female contracts, up from nine, in a two-step process that can see up to 11 players named in the first round. A second round allows a transfer window for uncontracted players to seek opportunities elsewhere, with the final contract spots for each of the six domestic teams to be confirmed on 24 September, bringing the total to 12 domestically contracted players per side.
July’s Master Agreement overhaul by NZC, the six Major Associations and the New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association has seen the country’s total number of women’s domestic contracts increase from 54 to 72, positioned as a secondary work commitment with restricted obligations to enable players to retain existing fulltime employment and/or study commitments.
Central Hinds head coach Jamie Watkins said it was exciting for CD to be able to contract more female domestic players this summer.
“This is a really exciting and pivotal time for the female game in New Zealand as it transitions into a more semiprofessional model.
“The increase from nine to 12 domestic contracts, as well as a two-step process, will allow for more players around the country to develop their game.
“From a Central Districts point of view, this is a really exciting group with a great balance.
“It’s pleasing to be able to contract Ocean for the first time, we have already seen that she is a player of potential.
“Along with our White Ferns contracted players Hannah Rowe and Rosemary Mair, and the extended squad who will also have plenty of opportunity to complete for playing spots, we look forward to a great season ahead.”
The Central Hinds play their first matches this season on 19 and 20 November-November 19 and 20, when they will host the first two rounds of the national one-day Hallyburton Johnstone Shield at New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park, against the Auckland Hearts.
Last summer the Hinds attracted the biggest crowd in New Zealand for a Dream11 Super Smash female fixture, beating the Hearts by 14 runs at a packed Fitzherbert Park in Palmerston North.
This summer’s Dream11 Super Smash campaign (all matches played as doubleheaders with the Central Stags) begins at the same venue, Fitzherbert Park, on December 27 2022, before the traditional New Year’s Eve programme at Pukekura Park, followed by the teams’ first-ever T20 doubleheader at Nelson’s Saxton Oval on 21 January 2023.
Entry to the Hallyburton Johnnstone Shield is free in Nelson, Palmerston North and New Plymouth, while Dream11 Super Smash tickets and saver deals for all venues are on sale now.