Wellington, June 18 (H.S.): New Zealand fast bowler Bree Illing and batter Bella James have been awarded central contracts for the New Zealand women’s cricket team for the first time. New Zealand Cricket (NZC) released the central contract list for the 2025-26 season on Wednesday, June 18, which includes these two young players. This spot became available after Hayley Jensen’s retirement and captain Sophie Devine’s move to a casual playing agreement.Left-arm fast bowler Bree Illing made her domestic cricket debut in 2022 and has since become the leading wicket-taker for her team. The 21-year-old Illing has taken a total of 29 wickets across all formats this season.

Due to this outstanding performance, she made her international debut in both ODIs and T20s against Sri Lanka in March of this year, where she took six wickets in six matches.

Meanwhile, Bella James debuted in international cricket in an ODI against Australia last December. She played another match against the same team in March. However, James started playing domestic cricket at just 16 years of age and had to wait a long time to come to international cricket.New Zealand women’s team coach Ben Sawyer said, Bree performed exceptionally well against Sri Lanka. Her performance against a world-class batter like Chamari Atapattu shows that she is ready for international level. Bella has consistently performed well at the domestic level and had an impressive debut series against Australia.

Central contract list for the New Zealand women’s team for 2025-26:Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Lauren Down, Izzy Gaze, Maddie Green, Brook Holiday, Bree Illing, Polly Inglis, Bella James, Fran Jonas, Jess Kerr, Amelia Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar