Nathan Smith and Josh Clarkson offered New Zealand Central Contracts

All-rounders Nathan Smith and Josh Clarkson have been handed New Zealand central contracts, occupying the spots vacated by Fin Allen and Devon Conway declining deals last month. 

Clarkson has played three ODIs and T20Is while Smith is yet to make his international debut. 

With 33 wickets to his name, Smith was the leading wicket-taker in last season’s Plunket Shield. He also played for Worcestershire this season where he picked 27 wickets in seven County Championship matches besides registering three half-centuries with the bat. He was also a part of the T20 Blast where he took 8 wickets in nine matches before he was forced home with a hamstring injury. 

"Josh has been involved in both white ball squads over the past twelve months which shows the strides he's made in his game," Stead said. "He's a hard-hitting player with plenty of skills and has shown in his chances so far that he can offer a lot with bat and ball on the international stage. Josh will provide depth and add value given the volume of white-ball cricket on the horizon."

The vacancies on the contract list came to light when Allen and Conway opted out of accepting T20 league deals during Janway. Conway, who will represent Joburg Super Kings (JSK) in the upcoming edition of the SA T20 League, was offered a casual playing contract, similar to the model offered to Kane Williamson. Allen, who penned a two-year deal with Scorchers (SCO) in the Aus-T20 League, wasn’t provided with the same alternative but will remain eligible on a case-by-case basis. 

The Kiwis return to action next week with a one-off Test against Afghanistan in Greater Noida before flying to Sri Lanka for two Tests followed by three tests against India. 

Updated New Zealand Men's central contracts

Tom Blundell, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Will O'Rourke, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young