Black Cap Tom Blundell will enjoy a six-figure payday without playing a match at the Cricket World Cup. Photo / Getty Images
Black Cap Tom Blundell will enjoy a six-figure payday without playing a match at the Cricket World Cup. Photo / Getty Images
Kane Williamson and his fellow Black Caps heroes will be $6 million richer if they can win the Cricket World Cup final.
Tom Blundell is one day away from a potential $375,000 payday – without even playing a match for the Black Caps in their heroic Cricket World Cup campaign.
The Black Caps will share a whopping $6 million payout if they beat England in the tournament final, starting on Sunday night (NZ Time) at Lord's.
While painful, a loss against England would still secure the side a healthy $3m payout.
The money is put-up by the International Cricket Council.
Under the split, back-up wicketkeeper Tom Blundell – who is yet to play a game – would earn the same amount as the likes of Williamson and No 1 gloveman Tom Latham who have played all nine Black Caps games to date.
Under the players' centralised contract with New Zealand Cricket, all prize money from tournaments is to be shared amongst the squad, regardless of how many games they have played.
Black Cap Tom Blundell impressed during the warm-up phase of the Cricket World Cup. Photo / Getty Images
Blundell featured in the warm-ups matches but has not featured in the starting 11 during the tournament.
New Zealand Cricket Players' Association chief executive Heath Mills said the money would be split 16 ways; meaning a win would secure the 15 players $375,000 each, while another portion of $375,000 would be split amongst the team's support staff.
If Williamson's team loses its second successive World Cup final, the cut to each player – and also a portion shared evenly amongst support staff - would still be an impressive $187,500.
"It is a significant payday if they go well. And they deserve it," Mills said.
"The prize money for the event is a direct correlation to the amount of revenue that the event brings in. The World Cup is a significant revenue earner for the ICC, its members and obviously players should quite rightly share in that return . . . they are the ones out in the middle."
There is no provision in the playing contracts for performance bonuses from New Zealand Cricket on top of the prize money provided by the ICC.
Kane Williamson has been an inspiration as captain of the Black Caps during the World Cup. Photo / photosport.co.nz
Mills said players were well-versed on budgeting, with all contracted players completing personal development programmes educating them on issues such as finances.
"The reality is that it is a great earner, they do very well, but being a professional athlete is a short-term career and if you don't do smart things with your money you may be in a very bad position five or 10 years after your retirement," he said.
"I am sure they will all do sensible things [with the payouts]."
The Black Caps reached Sunday's final after a heart-stopping win over pre-tournament favourites India in Manchester on Thursday (New Zealand time).
India had also finished the round-robin phase of the tournament as the highest-ranked team, with the Black Caps securing the final semi spot after finishing fourth on the points table.
The victory has been lauded both by Black Caps fans and the wider international cricketing community.
The Black Caps had been backed by passionate support both at home and in the UK. Photo / photosport
Mills said while the Black Caps were playing more than 18,000km from home, they were aware of the fervent support growing in New Zealand.
"The support from fans back home has been awesome," he said.
"The players are well aware that the country is behind them. While everyone might not be diehard behind sport or cricket, they are taking an interest. And the players know when they go good it makes people feel good back home.
"They are aware of the support and aware of the responsibility that comes with that."
The Black Caps gather in a team huddle during the dramatic semifinal win over India. Photo / photosport.co.nz
After the semifinal win, Williamson described the heroics from his side as a "brilliant fighting effort from our guys on what was another tough surface and it required that mentality".
"You come into this tournament where anybody can beat anybody," he said. "We saw a number of results that perhaps where sides ranked lower beat sides ranked higher, but I think everybody knew that anybody can beat anybody.
"We came through in the fourth position, which is fine. And then we put out a much-improved performance in the semifinal, and it is important for us to try and make small improvements moving into our next match."
