Photo Credit: New Zealand Cricket
New Zealand’s six Major Associations have today announced their women’s domestic contract lists for the 2024/25 summer, with nine players receiving contract offers for the first time.
Major Associations can name up to 12 players in the first round of contract announcements, followed by a two-week window. Following this, each Major Association will name a further player to complete their 13-player contract list.
New additions
Auckland welcome spinner Rishika Jaswal and batters Cate Pedersen and Anika Todd to their list for the first time.
Jaswal made her Hearts debut on her 17th birthday against Northern Districts in the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield last November and featured seven times for the Hearts in the 50-over competition, and made her Dream11 Super Smash debut against Canterbury in December.
The young leg spinner was also instrumental for Takapuna Grammar School at last summer’s Gillette Venus Cup, finishing as the joint leading wicket-taker with nine wickets at an average of just eight and the fourth-highest run scorer with 120 runs at an average of 40. Her performances were rewarded at the NZC Community Cricket Awards where she was named as the joint Gillette Venus Cup Player of the Year.
Like Jaswal, 17-year-old Anika Todd has risen through Auckland Cricket’s Talent Pathway system, and also represented Aotearoa Māori Women at last summer’s Pacific Cup in January.
Rotorua-born Pedersen, who first represented the Central Hinds before joining the Hearts, featured seven times across both formats for Auckland last summer.
Marina Lamplough has earned her first domestic women’s contract for Northern Districts.
Lamplough, who has previously represented Otago domestically and Hong Kong internationally, made the move to Northern Districts at the start of the 2022/23 season and featured in all 10 of the Brave Women’s Dream11 Super Smash matches last summer, taking 6 wickets at an average of 10.6.
Anna Gaging has been offered her first domestic contract by Central Districts.
The pace bowler has featured five times for the Hinds since making her debut during the 2020-21 season and earns her contract off the back of a memorable 2023-24 season where she claimed her maiden four-wicket haul (4-43) against Northern Districts in the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield in New Plymouth.
Wellington Under 19 captain Rachael Bryant has earned her first official Wellington Blaze contract.
The 19-year-old spinner led Wellington to the National Under 19 tournament title during the 2022-23 season and made her Blaze debut a few months later against the Central Hinds in the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield.
Emerging on to the domestic scene in Canterbury is batter Harriet Graham.
The opener has featured four times for Canterbury in the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield and earns her first contract after successfully progressing through the Canterbury pathway system.
For Otago, bowler Louisa Kotkamp and allrounder Harriet Cuttance have been offered their first domestic contracts.
Kotkamp featured five times for the New Zealand Under 19 women at the ICC Under 19 World Cup in South Africa last year and made her domestic debut for Otago in the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield against Northern Districts in February.
A product of the Otago pathway system, Cuttance made her domestic debut in the 2022 Hallyburton Johnstone Shield Grand Final against the Wellington Blaze and also played a part for Aotearoa Māori in the Pacific Cup.
Movements
Auckland Cricket Talent Pathway System product Anna Browning makes the move South to Otago for the 2024-25 season. The former New Zealand Under 19 opening batter featured 24 times for the Hearts over the past two seasons and was a key figure in the New Zealand Under 19 squad which reached the semi-finals of the Under 19 World Cup in South Africa last year.
Central Hinds wicketkeeper batter Natalie Dodd will not feature during the 2024-25 season. The Hinds captain, who led the team to their first Super Smash final in eight years last summer, has opted out of the domestic contracting process for the upcoming season as she awaits the birth of her first child.
Skye Bowden has made the move to Northern Districts after six years with the Hearts. Bowden, who won’t be domestically contracted, was the Hearts’ leading wicket-taker in last year’s Dream11 Super Smash competition, with 10 wickets at an average of 12.2 and also featured for the Aotearoa Māori women’s team during last summer’s Pacific Cup.
Jesse Prasad, is another new face on the Northern Districts list. Prasad, who has previously been contracted by the Auckland Hearts, featured 10 times across both formats for Northern Districts last season after making the move to the region after four years with Auckland.
Bernadine Bezuidenhout also returns to the Northern Districts contract list after announcing her retirement from international cricket in May, while Kate Anderson returns to the Canterbury list after not being offered a central WHITE FERNS contract.
The six Major Associations will name their second round of contracted players on August 27.
Northern Districts Cricket
Bernadine Bezuidenhout, Caitlin Gurrey, Eve Wolland, Holly Topp, Jess Watkin, Jesse Prasad, Kayley Knight, Marama Downes, Marina Lamplough, Nensi Patel, Shriya Naidu, Tash Wakelin
Auckland Cricket
Olivia Anderson, Bella Armstrong, Elizabeth Buchanan, Prue Catton, Amie Hucker, Bree Illing, Kate Irwin, Rishika Jaswal, Cate Pedersen, Josie Penfold, Saachi Shahri, Anika Todd
Central Districts Cricket
Aniela Apperley, Georgia Atkinson, Ocean Bartlett, Flora Devonshire, Anna Gaging, Kate Gaging, Claudia Green, Mikeala Greig, Ashtuti Kumar, EmmaMcLeod, Thamsyn Newton, Kerry Tomlinson
Cricket Wellington
Antonia Hamilton, Caitlin King, Hannah Francis, Jess McFadyen, Kate Chandler, Leigh Kasperek, Tash Codyre, Nicole Baird, Phoenix Williams, Rachel Bryant, Rebecca Burns, Xara Jetly
Canterbury Cricket
Kate Anderson, Sarah Asmussen, Missy Banks, Natalie Cox, Jodie Dean, Harriet Graham, Abigail Hotton, Laura Hughes, Frankie Mackay, Izzy Sharp, Jess Simmons, Gabby Sullivan
Otago Cricket
Emma Black, Caitlin Blakely, Anna Browning, Harriet Cuttance, Chloe Deerness, Olivia Gain, Bella James, Louisa Kotkamp, Felicity Robertson, Molly Loe, PJ Watkins, Saffron Wilson
Name of Author: New Zealand Cricket
The New Zealand national cricket team, known as the Black Caps, made their Test debut in 1930 against England in Christchurch, becoming the fifth nation to play Test cricket. After waiting 26 years for their first Test win against the West Indies in 1956, they also played their first ODI in 1972–73 against Pakistan. New Zealand are the inaugural World Test Championship champions (2021) and have won the ICC Champions Trophy (2000). They have reached the Cricket World Cup final twice and the T20 World Cup final once.
