Anderson’s cameo in England wins contract with NZ Cricket
A late-season cameo appears to have won Northern Districts all-rounder Corey Anderson a New Zealand Cricket contract.
Anderson was yesterday named as one of six newcomers to the 20 players to be awarded NZC contracts for the 2013/14 season.
The 22-year-old wasn’t originally a member of the New Zealand side that contested the ICC Champions Trophy one-day tournament last month, but was a late addition to the side and made an impact in his one appearance against hosts England before also featuring in the short Twenty20 series against the same opponents.
Anderson, a hard-hitting, left-handed batsman and medium-fast, left-arm seamer, smacked 30 off 24 balls batting at No 7 in a losing ODI cause and then bowled four handy overs, including the final one, in a tight T20 victory.
The Tauranga-based player has flourished since joining the Northern Knights from the Canterbury Wizards two seasons ago and is viewed as a prospective international-class all-rounder in all three formats.
Anderson, Canterbury wicketkeeper/ Big mover: Northern Knights all-rounder Corey Anderson was awarded a New Zealand Cricket contract for the coming season. Photo: Maarten Holl/Fairfax NZ batsman Tom Latham, Auckland trio Mitchell McClenaghan, Colin Munro and Bruce Martin, and Otago opener Hamish Rutherford were the new names on the list named by selector/coach Mike Hesson.
Veteran all-rounder Grant Elliott regained a contract after last being on the list in the 2010-11 season, while Peter Fulton made his first appearance on the list since 2008-09.
Those to miss out after being contracted last year were James Franklin, Andrew Ellis, Daniel Flynn, Kruger van Wyk, Rob Nicol and Tarun Nethula.
Of the others contracted last year, Jacob Oram handed in his contract in December and was replaced by Neil Wagner, Chris Martin announced his retirement last week and Daniel Vettori declined a contract as he rehabilitates from Achilles tendon surgery.
Hesson said the 20 players are those most likely to feature for the New Zealand team over the next 12 months. Others on the cusp were Ian Butler, Mark Gillespie and Luke Ronchi.
‘‘We believe that the 20 players selected will provide the most value to the Black Caps over what is an exciting period for the team,’’ Hesson said.
‘‘There’s plenty of cricket to be played over the next 12 months, with series against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, West Indies, India and the ICC World Twenty20.
‘‘With nine changes from last year’s contracted list, it’s evident that competition for places is high.
‘‘There’s still a strong core of experienced players who have been a part of the team’s progression over recent months.
‘‘Some of the younger players, such as Corey Anderson and Hamish Rutherford, have also demanded a spot, after making strong starts to their international careers.’’
Rankings aren’t made public but the highest-ranked player, most likely Brendon McCullum, gets an annual retainer of $181,425. Salaries drop in $6000 increments to $73,000 for those ranked 18-20.
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