NZ Cricket boss wants T20 vision
New Zealand Cricket is open to other players joining Colin Munro on a ‘white ball contract’, but the Black Caps and Twenty20 Super Smash during the home summer is non-negotiable.
Munro became the first New Zealand player to opt out of first-class cricket and test consideration while under contract, which made yesterday’s deciding ODI against England his final match of the home season. He said his passion for four-day cricket had dimmed.
NZC chief executive David White expects the contract system will be ‘‘modified’’ when the current Master Agreement expires on July 31.
‘‘My personal view is there will be some modifications to accommodate white ball cricket but we’re not going to see a radical overhaul of the contracting system,’’ White said.
‘‘Some players might decide to focus on white ball cricket and what’s important for us is, as long as New Zealand Cricket and the Super Smash is protected there could be some accommodation there.’’
That also means the bright lights of Australia’s Big Bash remain out for contracted players, barring one or two-match cameos. The New Zealand competition will clash with the Big Bash again after what White labelled a successful shift to the December-January holiday window.
‘‘Absolutely, that is critical, that our Super Smash window is sacrosanct for our players. It’s important for our domestic competition not only from a commercial point of view but a development point of view that we have our best players playing in it.’’
Under the current agreement, 21 players are offered annual retainers ranging from around $85,000 for those ranked 18-21 to $210,000 for Kane Williamson at No 1. Players are ranked in all three formats, with tests counting for double ODIs and T20s, and those outside the top 21 are among 90 domestically contracted players.
Munro is now available for T20 leagues until November when the Black Caps next play limited overs matches, against Pakistan. He’s contracted for next month’s Indian Premier League and the Caribbean Premier League in August.
Most, if not all the current contracted players still covet test cricket, of which there will likely be eight a year and just four at home under the new Future Tours Programme (FTP) to be ratified next month.
But the likes of legspinner Ish Sodhi, injury-plagued allrounder Corey Anderson and maybe even Martin Guptill could be among those to weigh up their test futures, stay on a retainer and focus on the World Cup and T20 opportunities during gaps in the schedule. England ODI players Alex Hales and Adil Rashid both recently turned their backs on red ball cricket, too, in a sign of the changing cricketing times around the world.
White is off to Kolkata next month for the International Cricket Council’s chief executives’ meeting where he hopes two big items will be ticked off: the FTP and a clearly defined schedule where T20 leagues and international cricket fit a lot better.
‘‘It’s been on the table for a couple of years but it’s really coming to a head now. Everyone agrees domestic T20 leagues are important and the IPL stands alone in that. But it needs to co-exist with a meaningful international programme and that’s really important for NZC, because we are very dependent on an international programme for our revenue.
‘‘Looking at the best way forward, is that having dedicated windows for domestic T20 leagues or having a season structure where both can co-exist is critical for the future of cricket.’’
Among changes on the table at the CEOs meeting, as reported by the Guardian, were restricting players aged under 32 to three domestic T20 leagues per year; regional T20 windows that leave six months of the year clear for international cricket from 2023 onwards, and all leagues paying 20 per cent of a player’s contract value to their home board as mandatory compensation.