Daniel Sams rejects state contract as New South Wales confirm contract list for 2023-24 season

Daniel Sams. (Photo by Mark Brake – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)

Australian all-rounder Daniel Sams has opted against taking a state contract with New South Wales to look for opportunities in franchise T20 cricket. Sams has represented Australia in 10 T20Is and is currently a part of the Lucknow Super Giants squad in IPL 2023, where he is yet to get his first game. The 30-year-old will be joining Essex for the T20 Blast and will later make a return to Trent Rockets for the Hundred.

Sams, who played five Marsh Cup one-day games for NSW last season, made his last first-class cricket appearance in 2018. On the other hand, Chris Green has earned his maiden NSW contract on the back of some stupendous performances. He was named NSW’s Sheffield Shield player of the season for 2022-23, where he picked 20 wickets, nine of which came on his first-class debut and scored 290 runs in six matches.

Fast bowler Jackson Bird has moved from Tasmania to NSW, while top-order batter Blake MacDonald and seamer Ross Pawson have earned their first contracts.

MacDonald plundered a half-century on his Shield debut vs South Australia in the final game of last season. He earlier made an unbeaten 177 playing for a combined NSW and ACT XI against West Indies.

Australia’s Under-19 captain last season, Joel Davies, has been handed a rookie contract and will join his brother Ollie at the state.

NSW’s chief of cricket performance, Greg Mail, expressed his delight at the additions of Jackson Bird and Chris Green to centrally contracted players. He further praised Blake MacDonald and Ross Pawson for their consistent performances.

Both Blake and Ross have deserved their contracts: Greg Mail

“With the additions of Jackson and Chris, we get some experience from guys with well-documented credentials. Both Blake and Ross have deserved their contracts through sheer weight of runs and wickets at Premier Cricket and Second Xl level. Their contracts show that when players consistently perform at that level, we will look at those performances positively,” Greg Mail, NSW’s chief of cricket performance, said.

Mail further exalted Joel Davis calling him a genuine allrounder.

“Joel Davies is a very talented young player with a high ceiling in the game. He is a genuine allrounder who is also a brilliant fielder and leader and someone we are very excited to see develop further,” he added.

Retired players Trent Copeland and Mickey Edwards, who moved to the UK, have been dropped from the list, while Sean Abbott is added to those with a CA deal. Batter Lachlan Hearne was not offered a contract, while rookie Liam Doddrell also missed out with the number of contracts available reduced under the new MOU.

According to a report in ESPNCricinfo, Greg Shipperd will be the new coach of the NSW men’s set-up.

New South Wales men’s contracts 2023-24 Sean Abbott, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Joel Davies, Oliver Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Ryan Hackney, Ryan Hadley, Liam Hatcher, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Baxter Holt, Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Nathan Lyon, Blake Macdonald, Blake Nikitaras, Jack Nisbet, Kurtis Patterson, Ross Pawson, Will Salzmann (R), Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, Lachlan Shaw, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Chris Tremain, Hunar Verma, David Warner, Adam Zampa.