How world champion Black Caps will divvie up their $2.27m prize pot
First Pakistan tour in 18 years looms, before T20 World Cup and a big test series in India where Virat Kohli will eye revenge.
A first tour of Pakistan in 18 years, a Twenty20 World Cup and nine World Test Championship matches, starting in India, loom for the Black Caps as they begin their title defence across a hectic next 12 months.
The newly-minted world test champions after toppling India, 11 of the 15-man New Zealand squad plus Gary Stead and fellow coaches touched down in Auckland yesterday for 14 days of managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ), with a sweetener of $2.27 million in prizemoney awaiting.
As many as 22 cricketers donned the black cap during their two-year WTC campaign and all would get varying slices of the cash pie, New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White told the Sunday StarTimes.
‘‘It goes to the players, which is great, US$1.6 million. I’d imagine they [team management] would be divvying that up on a pro rata basis,’’ White said.
Split evenly, that would be a healthy $103,000 each, about the annual retainer of the lowestranked of the 20 NZC contracted players.
White said plans were afoot to mark the achievement with a
night of celebration – but not a street parade – for the Black Caps who returned clutching winners’ medals and the International Cricket Council mace. The trophy was handed over to its minder Tim Southee by captain Kane Williamson, who remains in England to play franchise cricket along with Devon Conway, Kyle Jamieson and Colin de Grandhomme.
All will be reunited in either Bangladesh, Pakistan, India or the United Arab Emirates. A tour of Bangladesh in September (five T20s) is New Zealand’s next assignment before Pakistan (five T20s, three ODIs), the T20 World Cup in either India or UAE, and two tests in India in late November where captain Virat Kohli’s team will eye revenge.
White said the Black Caps first tour of Pakistan since 2003 was highly likely. England have also confirmed a return there in October, with security fears of the past two decades having eased.
‘‘Our intention is to tour Pakistan, and we’re working through that with [the PCB], and Government agencies. All going well, ensuring that we satisfy all the security arrangements which I’m confident we will do, we will be touring Pakistan,’’ White said.
The planned resumption of the Indian Premier League – which was postponed in May due to Covid-19 – is complicated. IPL organisers pencilled in September 19 till October 15, likely in the UAE, which means frontliners Williamson, Jamieson and Trent Boult will miss a chunk of the T20 World Cup buildup.
White said NZC wouldn’t fight their players attending. ‘‘There’s a lot of moving parts right now, but ideally we would allow our guys to play in the IPL.’’
For now, test cricket’s No 1 side face a daunting start against India in the 2021-2023 cycle, before two tests each against Bangladesh and South Africa at home, then a prized three-test series in England in May-June, with memories of the Edgbaston series clincher two weeks ago still fresh.
Bangladesh’s tour was hoped to open with a Boxing Day test, which Tauranga’s Bay Oval successfully
‘‘It would be good if we can play more test matches in our series, that’s something we’ll be looking to do.’’ David White New Zealand Cricket chief executive, above
staged last year against Pakistan. White said this year’s could be delayed by a day or two, given the Black Caps will only emerge from MIQ after the India tour just before Christmas.
‘‘We’ve got to be mindful of players coming back from a long winter and we’ve got to give them time at home as well,’’ said White. That includes Williamson, who will remain in England with his wife and daughter before reuniting with the Black Caps in the subcontinent and not returning to New Zealand until December.
South Africa were the last touring team to beat the Black Caps in a home test when Keshav Maharaj spun them to victory in Wellington in March 2017. Since then New Zealand have won 13 and drawn four on the green grass of home. Fans clamouring for a three-test series against the Proteas will be disappointed, though, with White insisting MIQ requirements made it a tight
squeeze as South Africa fit their New Zealand tour in between home series against India and Bangladesh.
‘‘A lot of people have asked me over the last 24 hours: ‘will there be more test matches?’ We’ve actually locked in the schedule through to 2023, but we’ve started discussions about the Future Tours Programme after 2023 to 2031. It would be good if we can play more test matches in our series, that’s something we’ll be looking to do,’’ White said.
That includes a much-awaited test rematch with Australia, some time in the 2023-2025 WTC cycle, White said.
White and his colleagues at NZC’s Auckland headquarters
went to work on Thursday sleepless, but elated at their side’s achievement.
Being able to play a full home season despite Covid-19’s grip on the world was a massive factor, White said. ‘‘The Government was great, and having managed isolation meant we were able to play all those games. Everyone really worked hard and the players have been unbelievable, the quality of the cricket and the way they played . . . just phenomenal.
‘‘The team and management rightly get the accolades, but there were a lot of people behind the scenes, right from the ground staff at Lincoln to everyone who supports them.’’