Contracted players for Wellington Firebirds 09-10

CRICKET WELLINGTON MEDIA RELEASE
15 July 2009

Cricket Wellington announces contracted players for Wellington Firebirds 2009-10

Cricket Wellington has announced its 12 contracted players for the 2009-10 year. These players are:

Matthew Bell
Harry Boam
Dewayne Bowden
Josh Brodie
BJ Crook
Mark Gillespie
Andy McKay
Cameron Merchant
Chris Nevin
Neal Parlane
Robbie Schaw
Luke Woodcock

Wellington Firebirds Head Coach Anthony Stuart says he is pleased with the balance of the squad and welcomes three new players to the capital for the first time. These are Andy McKay who has transferred to Wellington from the Auckland Aces, Cameron Merchant from the Northern Knights and Robbie Schaw from the Central Stags.

“It’s great have these three new players on board to add to the overall depth of our squad, and together with our Blackcaps being present for a greater part of the season the result is a greater competition for spots which is extremely healthy.” said Stuart.

29-year old left arm fast medium bowler Andy McKay comes to Wellington from Auckland for whom he has played 19 first class matches and taken 54 wickets since his debut in the 2002-03 season.

“Andy is an accurate left arm new ball bowler who bowls with good pace and hits the bat hard. His proven experience in first class cricket over the past few seasons for the Aces will be a real asset for us as we look to bolster our pace bowling stocks.”

Hard hitting left hand top order batsman Cameron Merchant made his New Zealand first- class and one-day debut last summer for the Knights, playing in eight first class matches and scoring 394 runs with three 50s and a top score of 89. Merchant transferred to New Zealand from Australia where he played his junior cricket for Manly in Sydney. He played senior grade cricket on both the Gold Coast and in Manly and represented the NSW second XI.

Stuart says 25-year old Merchant is an exciting acquisition for the Firebirds: “Cameron is a gifted top order batsman with tremendous talent and flair. His cricketing background is in Australia but he travels on a New Zealand passport with his mother being a New Zealander. We see him as having the potential to really blossom in our environment and he certainly has the x-factor and passion to go all the way in cricket.”

Hawke’s Bay’s Robbie Schaw has become a regular fixture in Central Districts cricket in recent seasons. Schaw is a tall leg spinner whose turn and extra bounce regularly troubles batsmen. As an attacking bowler, Schaw has often been the go-to bowler when wickets are required or a partnership needs breaking, particularly in the one-day form of the game. 25-year old Schaw comes to Wellington having played 49 matches in all three forms of the game for the Stags since his debut in the 2006-07 season.

“As everyone knows leg spinners are a rare breed and it’s fantastic to have Robbie in our squad this season to add to our spin bowling depth and provide further variety” said Stuart.

“With Jeetan Patel expected to play a key role with the Blackcaps again this summer, Robbie will add another dimension to our slow bowling attack with Luke Woodcock and Mark Houghton.”

The players not securing contracts from last year’s squad are Mark Houghton, Michael Burns and Kevin Forde.

“All three players will naturally be disappointed and Mark could consider himself a little unlucky. He played an important role for us with the ball in Twenty20 cricket last summer but he didn’t quite kick on as we would have hoped in the first-class and one-day forms of the game. However he is a talented cricketer and I fully expect him to continue to work hard on his game and be challenging for a Firebirds spot this season” said Stuart.

Grant Elliott has secured a central New Zealand contract for the next twelve months, alongside Patel, Jesse Ryder, Iain O’Brien and James Franklin.

Mark Gillespie was not offered a New Zealand contract and is welcomed back by Cricket Wellington.

The Firebirds captain and announcements of any overseas players will be made at a later date.

ENDS

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