Wellington bowler Jess Kerr and Central Districts wicket-keeper/batter Natalie Dodd have been offered New Zealand women's cricket for the first time.
Jess Kerr bowls for the White Ferns. Photo: © www.Photosport.nz 2020
They're included in the 17-player list for the 2020-21 season.
Of the players contracted last season, wicketkeeper/batter's Bernadine Bezuidenhout (Canterbury) and Rachel Priest (Wellington) are the two who have missed out.
Priest, 34, won back her White Ferns contract last year after having been dropped by former head coach Haidee Tiffin following the 2017 World Cup in England, but she hasn't been offered one this season.
Bezuidenhout has been omitted after missing out on selection to the T20 World Cup squad.
Kerr and Dodd will be familiar to White Ferns fans; Dodd made her debut as a teenager in 2010, while Kerr has played both ODI and T20I cricket against South Africa.
Both players have been in the contract frame for a while, earning Development Contracts in 2019-20.
Kerr has also been part of the Emerging Players Programme and is the older sister of White Ferns regular Amelia Kerr.
The White Ferns head coach Bob Carter said Kerr and Dodd fully deserved their new contract offers.
"It's an acknowledgment of hard work and perseverance from both Jess and Natalie, culminating in a fantastic opportunity ahead of them," he said.
"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.
"I'm happy the majority of our group can remain stable as we look for continual improvement and application from our players. 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."
Players offered central contracts 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.
