2021/22 Aotearoa Women's Development Contracts
I'd love to be typing up how important and relevant the NZC Women's Development Contracts are, although being deep in Aotearoa wahine cricket mangroves only has me puzzled about the whole situation. Eight players snapped up development contracts for the 2021/22 cycle and having done a deep dive into last year's contracted group, I dove further back to the 2019 group to see if there was greater clarity around an actual development plan.
Here are the eight development contracts for each cycle...
2019
Jess Watkin, Skye Bowden, Natalie Dodd, Arlene Kelly, Jess Kerr, Natasha van Tilburg, Saachi Shahri, Jess Simmons.
2020
Bella Armstrong, Jess Watkin, Katie Gurrey, Rebecca Burns, Eden Carson, Fran Jonas, Jacinta Savage, Skye Bowden.
2021
Kate Anderson, Bella Armstrong, Sarah Asmussen, Claudia Green, Fran Jonas, Nensi Patel, Molly Penfold, Gabby Sullivan.
Watkin and Bowden were the only two to receive development contracts for 2019 and then 2020 with Jess Kerr storming into the White Ferns. The best way to assess this stuff is take away ego, forget about my views on who the best 'development' cricketers are and to instead relay who NZC are telling us are they best development cricketers. NZC told us that they would invest in Watkin and Bowden for two cycles, but then aren't worth investing in for a third cycle.
24 players have received development contracts across the three cycles and only four have been graced with consecutive contracts. Unless the idea is to hand out contracts to any young-ish female cricketer without any focus, NZC appear to be telling us that they didn't identify the best players in the year before and select new players for the next group.
Is Watkin not good enough for a development contract now after grabbing two in a row?
Is teenage spinner Eden Carson suddenly not good enough despite being indentified last year as a talented youngster?
Such anecdotes or queries can be applied for every player who has received a development contract since they started. Through their own cluttered approach and lack of consistency, NZC is essentially outlining their own talent identification flaws.
This is reinforced by the fact that of these 24 players identified by NZC, only two have blossomed into decent White Ferns contenders - despite the White Ferns being at their lowest point in the past five years. Kerr is the most notable, while the other is Fran Jonas who only dabbled in White Ferns cricket last summer and even though spinner Amelia Kerr opted out of the England tour; Jonas didn't get a call up.
Watkin has the honour of playing for the White Ferns prior to receiving her two development contracts, then barely getting squad selection since her two development contracts.
Natalie Dodd has played for the White Ferns as late as last summer. Like Kate Ebrahim and Frances Mackay though, Dodd wasn't given much of a crack and quickly ushered out of the mix.
These are development contracts. One would assume the idea is about development and with very little development happening, it's all rather confusing. The group below are talented young wahine, based on previous NZC development contracts and the value White Ferns selectors place in warm up game performances; I'm not sure how important these development contracts actually are.
Any way, big ups to the wahine below who can save up some cash...
Kate Anderson (Northern Spirit)
25 years - bat/righty seam.
Overall T20
Bat: 13.25avg/91.66sr.
Bowl: 27.05avg/6.85rpo.
Overall One Day
Bat: 28.45avg/85.33sr.
Bowl: 29.36avg/5.14rpo.
2020/21 Hallyburton-Johnstone Shield
Bat: 37.42avg/93.90sr - 11th.
2020/21 Super Smash
Bat: 20.30avg/106.84sr - 12th.
Bella Armstrong (Auckland Hearts)
21 years - righty seam/bat.
Overall T20
Bat: 12.80avg/102.40sr.
Bowl: 24.38avg/6.32rpo.
Overall One Day
Bat: 10.52avg/60.24sr.
Bowl: 19.81avg/3.97sr.
2020/21 Hallyburton-Johnstone Shield
Bat: 10.66avg/74.41sr - 37th.
Bowl: 32.57avg/4.97rpo - 32nd.
2020/21 Super Smash
Bat: 18.62avg/101.36sr - 19th.
Bowl: 39.66avg/8.81sr - 35th.
Sarah Asmussen (Canterbury Magicians)
21 years - leg spin.
Overall T20
Bat: 1.33avg/28.57sr.
Bowl: 36.50avg/8.11rpo.
Overall One Day
Bat: 4.50avg/28.57sr.
Bowl: 23.31avg/4.85rpo.
2020/21 Hallyburton-Johnstone Shield
Bowl: 18.84avg/4.11rpo - 1st.
2020/21 Super Smash
Bowl: 23.20avg/6.82rpo - 25th.
Claudia Green (Central Hinds)
23 years - righty seam/bat.
Overall T20
Bat: 6.50avg/56.52sr.
Bowl: 43.77avg/6.12rpo.
Overall One Day
Bat: 11avg/61.11sr.
Bowl: 23.11avg/3.84rpo.
2020/21 Hallyburton-Johnstone Shield
Bowl: 20.11avg/3.17rpo - 23rd.
2020/21 Super Smash
Bowl: 30.80avg/5.92rpo - 27th.
Fran Jonas (Auckland Hearts)
17 years - lefty spin.
Overall T20
Bat: 5avg/41.66sr.
Bowl: 27.71avg/6.03rpo.
Overall One Day
Bat: 3.16avg/18.81sr.
Bowl: 23avg/4.04rpo.
2020/21 Hallyburton-Johnstone Shield
Bowl: 18.61avg/3.78rpo - 9th.
2020/21 Super Smash
Bowl: 23.37avg/5.50rpo - 18th.
Nensi Patel (Northern Spirit)
19 years - bat/righty seam.
Overall T20
Bat: 15.40avg/83.69sr.
Bowl: 14.94avg/5.75rpo.
Overall One Day
Bat: 12.45avg/49.45sr.
Bowl: 35.16avg/4.05rpo.
2020/21 Hallyburton-Johnstone Shield
Bat: 38.50avg/58.77sr - 41st.
Bowl: 23.60avg/3.91rpo - 40th.
2020/21 Super Smash
Bat: 19avg/89.41sr - 31st.
Bowl: 17.87avg/5.29rpo - 17th.
Molly Penfold (Auckland Hearts)
20 years - righty seam.
Overall T20
Bat: 0.50avg/20sr.
Bowl: (no wickets in 5ov).
Overall One Day
Bat: 4.75avg/52.77sr.
Bowl: 31.80avg/4.86rpo.
2020/21 Hallyburton-Johnstone Shield
Bowl: 31.80avg/4.86rpo.
2020/21 Super Smash
Gabby Sullivan (Canterbury Magicians)
23 years - righty seam/bat.
Overall T20
Bat: 8.14avg/72.15sr.
Bowl: 18.42avg/6.45rpo.
Overall One Day
Bat: 9.29avg/52.14sr.
Bowl: 27.42avg/4.26rpo.
2020/21 Hallyburton-Johnstone Shield
Bowl: 21.78avg/4.44rpo - 6th.
2020/21 Super Smash
Bowl: 22avg/5.79rpo - 13th.
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