NZ Players' Association chief warns of player drain

Heath Mills, the New Zealand Cricket Players Association chief, has said New Zealand cricket will soon be "on the cusp" of a player drain unless the board takes measures to improve remuneration and player contracts in the changing environment, where commercial leagues are competing with international cricket.

"The biggest issue for all of us in the game in New Zealand is the ability to attract and retain our best players," Mills told the Star-Times. "We're struggling to retain our best players now; guys are retiring before their time, for whatever reasons, and we may have a situation where our best players may opt to play casually for New Zealand so they can play in the IPL."

Several New Zealand players, including Shane Bond and Daryl Tuffey, opted to join the unofficial ICL in India and they were banned from playing for New Zealand until recently, when their exile ended. And Iain O'Brien retired unexpectedly during the ongoing Test series against Pakistan in order to move to England to be with his wife.

The NZCPA and NZC will meet around the New Year to discuss the collective bargaining agreement for the next four years, "the most significant negotiation we've had to date given the changing landscape of cricket," Mills said. He is of the opinion that unless improvements are made, players could refuse central contracts and choose to play for clubs and franchises in competitions around the world instead. "Cricket is changing from having a commercial base solely focused around international cricket to a commercial base built around a combination of international cricket and club or franchise competitions like the Indian Premier League.

"If we don't have a contract system and playing environment that retains our best players then we are at risk. As we start negotiations with NZC we will find out what the numbers look like in the next four year period - hopefully they are good but if things remain the same we will end up like a lot of other sports in New Zealand where the best players end up playing overseas."