Cricket: Contracts to change NZ women's cricket

Samantha Curtis. Photo / Getty Images

New Zealand Cricket's decision to award retainer contracts to elite women has been hailed as a turning point for the women's game.

White Ferns cricketer Samantha Curtis said the move was a historic moment and team-mate Sara McGlashan called it "a great start".

NZC recently entered into a memorandum of understanding with the New Zealand Cricket Players' Association to award central contracts to the country's top 10 women's players, who were named late last month.

The agreements are tiered according to player ranking, and provide retainers of between $10,000 and $12,000 a year. In addition, players will continue to receive allowances and assembly fees when they're with the White Ferns squad.

The NZCPA estimate the retainers, allowances and fees will allow contracted players to earn around $25,000 a year if they are regularly selected. McGlashan said this was something players had been pushing for some time. Curtis said the money would allow players to focus more on training and lead to better performances. It will also make life easier for the 28-year-old Aucklander, who juggles top-order batting with practising law.

"The last tour [to Bangladesh], I had to take unpaid leave from work and we were away for seven weeks," she said. "That small injection of cash is going to make things so much easier.

"Hopefully what these contracts will do is allow [full-time workers] to take a step back and do part-time. It will just mean that you have so much more energy and focus."

Curtis devotes at least 12 hours a week to training in addition to time spent playing.

NZCPA's player services manager Henry Moore said he was happy with the money being offered.

"Prior to this MOU, [the White Ferns] weren't getting rewarded for the amount of training and playing they were having to do," he said. "They would have to fit in their commitments either before or after work. Getting a contract system in place credits the girls for their commitment."

McGlashan said she was grateful for the additional money but, like Curtis, recognised the move had symbolic as well as financial value.

"It's just a nice acknowledgement from New Zealand Cricket that they want to invest in the women's game," she said.

The 32-year-old is one of the White Ferns' most experienced players, with 118 one-day international caps. She works as a development officer for Cricket Auckland and estimates that playing and training takes up about three months of each year.

"It's nice knowing there's that money there to take care of [my] lost earnings."

She also understands the additional funds will come with increased expectations.

"From a playing point of view, we know we need to get the results on the park to show it's a justified investment."

Curtis and McGlashan have both been selected for the White Ferns' tour of the West Indies, which starts in September, when they will play four ODIs and three T20 internationals.