Jess Kerr, Natalie Dodd receive contracts for 2020-21; Bernadine Bezuidenhout, Rachel Priest miss out

Dodd, who made her international debut back in February 2010, had a stellar domestic season. She was Central Districts’ leading run-scorer in the Hallyburton Johnstone (HBJ) Shield with 385 runs in 9 games at an average of over 48. She also scored 273 runs in 10 Super Smash innings, second most for her side. Her strike rate of 152.77 was only second to Sophie Devine’s 184.50 among the top ten run-getters in the competition.

Meanwhile, Kerr had a record-breaking Super Smash, where she picked up 20 wickets – the most in a season, going past the 19 that her sister Amelia picked last year. She was also Wellington’s joint-highest wicket-taker in the HBJ Shield with seven wickets to her name. Following these impressive domestic outings, she made her international debut against South Africa earlier this year, before making it to New Zealand’s T20 World Cup squad.

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“It’s an acknowledgment of hard work and perseverance from both Jess and Natalie, culminating in a fantastic opportunity ahead of them,” said Bob Carter, New Zealand’s head coach.

“Jess was an excellent addition to the group last season and impressed the coaching staff with her work ethic and commitment. We’re looking forward to her developing her game over the next 12 months.”

“Natalie has impressed over several seasons at domestic level having been in the top echelon of run scorers while also showing her ability with the gloves. We see this as an opportunity to work on her skills and hopefully build on an international career that started many years ago.”

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The duo had earned Development Contracts in 2019-20, while Kerr was also a part of the Emerging Players Programme in the previous year.

“I’m happy the majority of our group can remain stable as we look for continual improvement and application from our players,” he said. “We have an experienced core of White Ferns and want to ensure our younger, less experienced players have the chance to learn from them over the next 12 months.”

The procedure for awarding contracts was as per the Women's Master Agreement.

Contracted Players for 2020-21: Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine, Natalie Dodd, Lauren Down, Maddy Green, Holly Huddleston, Hayley Jensen, Leigh Kasperek, Amelia Kerr, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Katey Martin, Katie Perkins, Anna Peterson, Hannah Rowe, Amy Satterthwaite, Lea Tahuhu.