Exciting Newbies Contracted to Yahoo! Northern Knights

Northern Districts Cricket today announced eleven players offered domestic contracts for the 2011/12 season. As per the New Zealand Cricket Master Agreement, Major Associations can offer between nine and eleven contracts in the first round, then any remaining spots will be offered in the second round.

Players contracted to the Yahoo! New Zealand Northern Knights:

Graeme Aldridge (Bay of Plenty)
Brent Arnel (Counties Manukau)
James Baker (Hamilton)
Anton Devcich (Hamilton)
Brook Hatwell (Hamilton)
James Marshall (Northland)
Peter McGlashan (Counties Manukau)
Daryl Mitchell (TBC)
Anurag Verma (Hamilton)
Brad Wilson (Northland)
Joseph Yovich (Northland)


ND players contracted to New Zealand Cricket:

Trent Boult (Bay of Plenty)
Daniel Flynn (Bay of Plenty)
Tim Southee (Northland)
Daniel Vettori (Hamilton)
BJ Watling (Hamilton)
Kane Williamson (Bay of Plenty)

Newcomers Daryl Mitchell, James Baker and Brook Hatwell come into the fold for the first time, while Jono Boult and Michael Parlane miss out on contracts this year. Bradley Scott transferred back to Otago earlier this month.

Mitchell is the son of former All Blacks coach John Mitchell and has been playing cricket to a high standard in the family's home base of Perth for the past five years. He represented ND's under-19 team last season.

Batsman Brook Hatwell progresses to the top echelon of players after fighting his way through "A" level representative cricket and taking his chances when elevated to the Knights' side last season.

Tall young medium-fast bowler James Baker impressed when he made his Plunket Shield debut towards the end of the Knights' 2011 season and is seen as a player with strong potential.

Northern Districts Cricket CEO David Cooper said the cricket depth in the region has been clearly shown this season with the number of contracts to players who have come up through the association's Craigs Investment Partners Academy - proof that the academy model works well.

“This contracting process was one of the toughest in which to draw the line between players, as the depth of talent we have in our region is second to none," Cooper added.

"We are thrilled to be able to offer new players contracts and look forward to watching them grow their skills further - and also having the experience of long-serving players is only going to help the team prosper,” he said.

The second round of domestic cricket contracts will be offered on August 9th.

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