Four newbies get Black Caps central contracts
- Dave Worsley
- Jun 3
- 2 min read
A quartet of Black Caps have been awarded central contracts for the first time in the2025-26 season,
Wicketkeeper batter Mitch Hay, Muhammad Abbas, bowling allrounder Zak Foulkes and spin bowler Adi Ashok are all new to the contracts.
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Hay, a 24-year-old from Canterbury, struck an unbeaten 99 off 78 balls to anchor New Zealand’s ODI innings against Pakistan earlier this year, and also set a world record with six dismissals in a T20I during his debut tour in Sri Lanka in November.
Twenty one year-old Wellington allrounder Abbas smashed a record-breaking 52 off 26 balls on his ODI debut against Pakistan in March, setting the fastest fifty on debut in men’s ODIs.
He also showcased his left-arm pace bowling in the same match, claiming Mohammad Rizwan as his maiden ODI wicket.
Foulkes (22) made his T20I debut for the Black Caps against Pakistan last year, stepping in for the injured Adam Milne and impressing with his all-round skills. He made his ODI debut in November.
Auckland leg-spinner Ashok, 22 rounds out the newcomers, returning to the Black Caps ODI squad earlier this year after making his debut in 2023, and most recently starring with a five wicket haul in New Zealand A’s win over Bangladesh A at Sylhet.
A statistical review of domestic and international performances across Test, ODI, and T20I formats informed the rankings, with the final 20 players selected based on past performances, the 2025-26 schedule, and their likelihood of representing New Zealand.
Tim Southee (retired), Ish Sodhi, Ajaz Patel, and Josh Clarkson, all of whom were centrally contracted in 2024-25, were not offered contracts this year.
Discussions on casual playing contracts for players such as Kane Williamson, Devon Conway, Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, and Lockie Ferguson, are ongoing.
The full list of players centrally contracted for 2025-26 is: Muhammad Abbas, Adithya Ashok, Tom Blundell, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Mitch Hay, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, William O'Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Will Young
