Negotiations underway for New Zealand central contracts

New Zealand Cricket and the New Zealand Players' Association are negotiating the terms for central contracts to be awarded to players following the current term that concludes at the end of July. New Zealand tour Sri Lanka in August to play a tri-series involving the hosts and India but, because the ongoing negotiations may extend beyond July, the players might be given a temporary contract.

"We're still in negotiations with New Zealand Cricket and the major associations for a new collective contract," Heath Mills, head of the players' association, told New Zealand Herald. "Those negotiations are going well but we're not quite there yet.

"We're working through that [a temporary agreement] at the moment, but our priority remains to get a good and fair Collective Agreement."

The temporary arrangement, according to Justin Vaughan, the chief executive of NZC, could involve the extension of the current contracts by a month or an interim contract for the selected players. "We can't send guys away with nothing in place," Vaughan said. "But everyone is comfortable with where we're heading. It's not going to stop the plane taking off."

The 20 players in line for central contracts this year will not include Shane Bond or Iain O'Brien, who have retired from international cricket. Kane Williamson, the Northern Districts batsman, however, has been tipped to get a central contract. He averages 46.06 in first-class cricket and has been even more successful in the one-day format, averaging 57. He is part of the New Zealand squad for the tri-series to Sri Lanka and was picked for the Hamilton Test against Australia earlier in the year, though he wasn't selected in the playing XI.

Contracted players for 2009-10: Brent Arnel, Shane Bond, Neil Broom, Ian Butler, Grant Elliott, James Franklin, Daniel Flynn, Martin Guptill, Gareth Hopkins, Brendon McCullum, Tim McIntosh, Chris Martin, Kyle Mills, Iain O'Brien (replaced by Daryl Tuffey), Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel, Jesse Ryder, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Daniel Vettori.