June 19th 2024.
In a surprising move, Kane Williamson, the captain of the New Zealand cricket team, has declined a central contract for the 2024-25 year. He has also stepped down from his role as the white-ball captain in order to prolong his international career. This decision was announced by New Zealand Cricket on Wednesday.
This announcement comes after New Zealand's disappointing performance in the T20 World Cup 2024, where they failed to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2014. In a statement, Williamson expressed his passion for leading the team across all formats and his desire to continue contributing towards their success. However, he also mentioned that he will be pursuing an overseas opportunity during the New Zealand summer, which is why he is unable to accept the central contract offer.
Despite declining the central contract, Williamson will still be available to play for New Zealand. They have eight World Test Championship matches lined up before Christmas and will also be participating in the ICC Champions Trophy tournament in Pakistan in February-March. The 33-year-old, who has played over 350 international matches, also stated that he remains open to potentially accepting a central contract offer in the future.
The veteran player, with 165 ODI caps and 93 T20I caps, has led New Zealand in 40 Tests, 91 ODIs, and 75 T20Is. During his captaincy, the team achieved major milestones such as winning the World Test Championship in 2021, reaching the ODI World Cup final in 2019, and the T20 World Cup final in 2021. He also recently played his 100th Test match.
NZC CEO Scott Weenink praised Williamson as a great player for New Zealand who has earned the right to take some time off to pursue other goals, including family-oriented priorities. He stated that this decision is a good way to ensure Williamson's continued presence in the international game and his important role in the BLACKCAPS team.
Weenink also mentioned that they have a strong preference for selecting centrally contracted players for the BLACKCAPS, but they are happy to make an exception for Williamson, who is their greatest-ever batter and remains committed to the team. He further added that he sees this development as a positive one.
In addition, fast bowler Lockie Ferguson has also indicated that he will not be accepting a central contract offer when the contracting process opens. The final list of central contract offers is expected to be released next month.
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