Auckland’s Bree Illing and Otago’s Bella James have been granted their maiden central contracts by New Zealand Cricket (NZC). Both cricketers are currently on tour in England with the New Zealand A team. Their inclusion comes after the retirement of Hayley Jensen and Sophie Devine’s decision to move to a casual playing agreement following her ODI retirement post the upcoming World Cup.
Illing’s Impactful Rise to the National Scene
Bree Illing, a 21-year-old left-arm swing bowler, made her international debut in both ODIs and T20Is this past summer against Sri Lanka. Her domestic season was equally impressive as she emerged as Auckland’s top wicket-taker, boasting an average of 21.
“𝑩𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝑺𝒓𝒊 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒂,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝑩𝒆𝒏 𝑺𝒂𝒘𝒚𝒆𝒓. “𝑻𝒐 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒂 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅-𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒊 𝑨𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒕𝒉𝒖 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒆’𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕.”
James’ Batting Earns Recognition
Bella James, a key figure in Otago’s success, played a major role in their Hallyburton Johnstone Shield title win. She made her ODI debut in December 2024 and her T20I debut in March 2025, both against Australia.
“𝑩𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒂’𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝑨𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒂 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓,” 𝑺𝒂𝒘𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅. “𝑺𝒉𝒆’𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍.”
NZC Announces Full List of 2025-26 Central Contracts
The updated central contract list includes a mix of experienced and rising stars. Seventeen players have been offered contracts, featuring notable names like Suzie Bates, Amelia Kerr, Hannah Rowe, Jess Kerr, and Lea Tahuhu.
Also Read: All BBL and WBBL Squads Confirmed for 2025-26 Season
