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Trent Boult Reaffirms Future With New Zealand Despite Opting Out of New Central Contract

image-limp63kiTrent Boult has been a vital cog in New Zealand's success since 2015 (Twitter)

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) have announced its new 20-man central contract list for the 2023-2024 season, which has some surprise inclusions and exclusions. Pacer Trent Boult has once again opted out of the central contract, however, has reaffirmed his commitment to play for New Zealand under a casual playing agreement, and could be seen playing in the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023 in India later this year.

Boult and NZC mutually agreed to release the bowler from the central contract list last year in August, which enabled the 33-year-old to play various leagues and spend more time with his family.

Fast bowler Adam Milne finds himself on the list of full-time contracted players, for the first time in five-long-years. Milne played 11 T20Is and 5 ODIs in the past year, picking up 24 wickets for the Blackcaps.

Speaking about Milne's return, coach Gary Stead stated that the 31-year-old has earned it after an impressive outing in 2022-23 season.


Here's what Stead said

"Adam’s worked exceptionally hard and has shown good resilience over the past few years to be in a position to earn this contract offer. He’s always been a top-class bowler and we were impressed by his consistent contributions in the recent home summer and tour of Pakistan."

The third bowler in Test cricket to claim 10 wickets in an innings, spinner Ajaz Patel was not offered an extension from the last season. Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, and Blair Tickner have all retained their contracts.

​NZC central contracts for 2023-24

Finn Allen, Tom Blundell, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Blair Tickner, Neil Wagner, Kane Williamson, and Will Young.