Finn Allen playing for Wellington Photo: Photosport
The move of a couple of key players has been confirmed in the naming of the first round of contracted men's domestic cricketers for this summer.
Black Caps batsman Finn Allen moves back to Auckland from Wellington and fast bowler Kyle Jamieson heads back to Canterbury after four seasons in Auckland.
Major Associations can name up to 15 players in the first round of contract announcements, followed by a two-week official transfer window that allows uncontracted players the chance of assessing their options with another MA. Following this, each Major Association will name a further player to complete their 16-man contract list.
Spinner Ajaz Patel returns to the Central Districts contract list after not receiving a Black Caps contract.
He's joined by Jack Boyle who receives his first Central Districts contract after making the most of his opportunities last summer.
Experienced wicketkeeper-batter Cam Fletcher returns to Auckland, his city of birth, after nearly a decade with Canterbury and he fills the space left by Ben Horne who announced his retirement last month.
Canterbury welcomes a diverse bowling pair departing Otago, in the form of quick Michael Rae and left-arm wrist spinner Michael Rippon.
Otago have recruited former Firebird Luke Georgeson to the deep south.
Kyle Jamieson bowling for Auckland Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Contracted players receive a retainer and form the core of each Major Association's campaigns across the Plunket Shield, Ford Trophy and Dream11 Super Smash, but uncontracted players typically also get chances to shine and impress in each region during the season.
2023/24 Domestic contracts | First round*
*Each team will complete their 16-man roster with second-round announcements on July 20
Auckland: Adithya Ashok, Cole Briggs, Louis Delport, Danru Ferns, Cam Fletcher, Matt Gibson, Ryan Harrison, Harjot Johal, Simon Keene, Ben Lister, Robbie O'Donnell, Will O'Donnell, Sean Solia, Quinn Sunde, George Worker
Northern Districts: Joe Carter, Katene Clarke, Kristian Clarke, Henry Cooper, Matthew Fisher, Zak Gibson, Brett Hampton, Scott Johnston, Scott Kuggeleijn, Bharat Popli, Tim Pringle, Jeet Raval, Tim Seifert, Fred Walker, Joe Walker
Central Districts: Jack Boyle, Doug Bracewell, Tom Bruce, Will Clark, Josh Clarkson, Dane Cleaver, Liam Dudding, Joey Field, Greg Hay, Jayden Lennox, Ajaz Patel, Brett Randell, Brad Schmulian, Ray Toole, Bayley Wiggins
Wellington: Muhammad Abbas, Nick Greenwood, James Hartshorn, Troy Johnson, Nick Kelly, Callum McLachlan, Iain McPeake, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Robinson, Gareth Severin, Ben Sears, Michael Snedden, Nathan Smith, Peter Younghusband, Logan van Beek
Canterbury: Chad Bowes, Matt Boyle, Leo Carter, Sean Davey, Zak Foulkes, Mitch Hay, Cole McConchie, Angus McKenzie, Edward Nuttall, Ken McClure, Will O'Rourke, Michael Rae, Michael Rippon, Fraser Sheat, Henry Shipley
Otago: Matt Bacon, Max Chu, Jacob Cumming, Jacob Duffy, Dean Foxcroft, Luke Georgeson, Jake Gibson, Andrew Hazeldine, Llew Johnson, Ben Lockrose, Jarrod McKay, Travis Muller, Thorn Parkes, Dale Phillips, Hamish Rutherford
2023/24 BLACKCAPS Contract Offers:
Finn Allen (Auckland), Tom Blundell (Wellington), Michael Bracewell (Wellington), Mark Chapman (Auckland), Devon Conway (Wellington), Lockie Ferguson (Auckland), Matt Henry (Canterbury), Kyle Jamieson (Canterbury), Tom Latham (Canterbury), Adam Milne (Wellington), Daryl Mitchell (Canterbury), Henry Nicholls (Canterbury), Glenn Phillips (Dunedin), Mitchell Santner (Northern Districts), Ish Sodhi (Canterbury), Tim Southee (Northern Districts), Blair Tickner (Central Districts), Neil Wagner (Northern Districts), Kane Williamson (Northern Districts), Will Young (Central Districts)