NZC to drop one contract

New Zealand Cricket plans to announce its 20 full-time men’s contracted players next week – one fewer than last year – even though the new Master Agreement is still some way off being signed.

An NZC spokesman confirmed 21 Black Caps contracted players for the current year until July 31 would reduce to 20 in 2018-19.

At first glance it means minimal changes when the names are announced next week, with legspinner Todd Astle the most likely new face while Jimmy Neesham and Neil Broom are in danger of dropping back to domestic contracts after falling out of selection favour last summer. The other 19 look set to continue on the payroll.

The six major associations will each contract 16 players for the new season, up one from the current 15, with the first round to be announced next month. The current domestic contracts began on September 1 last year and expired on April 15.

This year’s contracting process is tricky, given negotiations between the Cricket Players’ Association and NZC are in full swing for the new Master Agreement. The current eight-year agreement is set to expire on July 31 and players are required to be contracted one month before then.

Negotiations between overseas players and boards have been fraught in recent times, after Cricket Australia’s bitter process last year, while South Africa’s talks have regularly hit choppy waters.

The CPA is expected to push hard for a fixed percentage of NZC’S annual revenue and discussions will be robust, but NZC chief executive David White remained confident it wouldn’t escalate. Both sides remain tightlipped.

‘‘We’re making very good progress.

‘‘We will be on track to complete that [Master Agreement] and be signed by the end of July,’’ White told Stuff last week.