Coach guarded on reasons for Neesham contract axing
Gary Stead remains tight-lipped on the reasons behind Jimmy Neesham’s national contract demotion, but insists he’s a valuable white-ball contributor.
Allrounder Neesham was the shock omission from the Black Caps’ 20-player contract list for 2022-23, which was announced yesterday.
Neesham, who is competing in the Indian Premier League with the Rajasthan Royals, declined to comment when approached by Stuff. He has played in only one of the Royals’ 12 matches, mostly being a spectator.
Neesham is still in the ODI picture, but the Black Caps clearly view him predominantly as a T20 player for the future.
Going from New Zealand’s firstchoice white-ball allrounder to missing a national contract is surprising and Black Caps coach Stead said Neesham was naturally disappointed. He will drop back to a domestic contract with Wellington.
Stead declined to comment when asked whether attitude issues were a concern with Neesham within the Black Caps’ environment.
‘‘I’m not prepared to comment on that. There’s always times in all teams when you have difficult times with players, that’s just part of the course,’’ Stead said.
‘‘Again I’ll say from a contracting point of view that attitudinal stuff has nothing to do with this.’’
Neesham’s Firebirds’ team-mate, Michael Bracewell, was the major winner, earning his first national contract after debuting for New Zealand in the ODI series against the Netherlands.
Left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel, who became the third test bowler to take 10 wickets in an innings against India in December, also returned to the list after being unwanted for the 2021-22 cycle.
Players are ranked by the selectors across all three formats, with tests given a higher weighting. The top-20 on the combined rankings are awarded contracts with an annual retainer plus match fees. Those who don’t make the top-20 are contracted by their major association.
With Neesham likely only accruing points for T20s, he has been overtaken by other players, who play multiple formats, including Bracewell.
The 31-year-old Neesham has been strictly viewed as a white-ball player in recent years, playing the last of his 12 tests in 2017.
Stead stressed that just because Neesham had missed a national contract it didn’t preclude him from Black Caps’ selection. He will no doubt be in their plans for the threematch away T20 series against Ireland in July. The T20 World Cup is also being staged in Australia in October-November.
‘‘We have to be careful with this ... It’s a contracting process not a selection process, so it doesn’t mean Jimmy Neesham won’t be selected for New Zealand again in the future. Yes, we still see him being a valuable white ball player.
‘‘I think he’s still in the [ODI] frame, but it’s fair to say we see him more in the T20 game as being a frontline player in that format.’’
Bracewell enjoyed a standout domestic season for the Firebirds, being named the men’s T20 Super Smash player of the year. After making his ODI debut in the Netherlands series, his rise continued being named in the Black Caps’ 20-player squad for the England tour.
A hard-hitting middle-order batter, offspin bowler and outstanding fielder, Bracewell is starting to deliver on his promise at 31 years of age. With next year’s ODI World Cup being held in India, he could be an intriguing middle-order possibility and his ability to bowl spin.
‘‘I think with Michael he’s been a very late starter to his spin bowling
Black Caps contracted players for 2022-23: and we’re excited where he’s got to with it across all formats of the game.
‘‘He just keeps learning. He’s learning fast. He’s obviously got a power game as well, that again he could bring as we keep looking forward to the future for World Cups, both T20 and ODI.’’