Cricket: Santner gets contract, Elliott and Bracewell return

NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND - JUNE 17: Mitchell Santner of New Zealand bats during the 4th ODI Royal London One-Day match between England and New Zealand at Trent Bridge on June 17, 2015 in Nottingham, Engla

There's one new player on a predictable list of 20 contracted Black Caps players for the next year.

Northern Knights all-rounder Mitchell Santner will make his first appearance on the list of centrally-contracted players, while pace bowler Doug Bracewell and World Cup star Grant Elliott return after previously being included in the 2013-2014 season.

Black Caps coach and selector Mike Hesson said Santner - a left-handed batsman and left-arm orthodox spin bowler, sealed his inclusion after an encouraging debut tour of England, where the 23-year-old played in all five one-day internationals, and the T20 match at Manchester.

"Mitch is a player of genuine all-round ability," said Hesson. "His appearance on this list is recognition of where we see his skills in all three forms of the game.

"My feeling is that we'll see a lot more of him with the bat, in particular, as he gains more experience."

Hesson said Bracewell and Elliott had forced their way back onto the list through the sheer weight of their recent performances.

"Grant hasn't had a contract for a while but returns on the back of excellent recent form, including the World Cup. He's a valuable member of our short-form sides.

"Doug deserved to return. He's performed strongly and forced his way back into the fold - ultimately in longer-form cricket, although we continue to see him as a multi-skilled player."

Hesson said the depth of international quality players being developed in New Zealand could be gauged by the quality of those who missed out on this occasion.

Spinner Ish Sodhi and all-rounder Colin Munro are missing from last year's intake, as is Kyle Mills, who has retired from international cricket.

A set criteria is used to rank players across all three forms of the game, with Tests receiving twice the weighting of One Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals.

The players with the 20 highest aggregate scores are then offered NZC contracts.

The first round of Major Association contracts will be announced on 22 July.

NZC contracted players for 2015-16: Corey Anderson (Northern), Trent Boult (Northern), Doug Bracewell (Central), Mark Craig (Otago), Grant Elliott (Wellington), Martin Guptill (Auckland), Matt Henry (Canterbury), Tom Latham (Canterbury), Mitchell McClenaghan (Auckland), Brendon McCullum (Otago), Nathan McCullum (Otago), Adam Milne (Central), Jimmy Neesham (Otago), Luke Ronchi (Wellington), Mitchell Santner (Northern), Tim Southee (Northern), Ross Taylor (Central), Neil Wagner (Otago), BJ Watling (Northern), Kane Williamson (Northern).

In: Bracewell, Elliott, Santner.

Out: Kyle Mills (retired), Colin Munro, Ish Sodhi.