New Zealand cricketers to gain from new revenue-sharing deal

Wellington, July 26 - New Zealand Cricket (NZC) on Thursday announced a new deal with the players' association that will see the cricketers receive 26.5 percent, a hike of approximately 16 percent, of the revenue generated in the next four years, starting August 1.

According to the new master agreement, New Zealand's players are set to share $4.45 million (NZD 65.3m) over the four-year term from August 2018 - July 2022.

The new agreement also includes a slight change to the contracting process, with NZC's annual central contracts being reduced by one (from 21 to 20) and the number of annual domestic contracts for each major association increasing by one (from 15 to 16), a statement from NZC said.

Commenting on the new agreement negotiations, NZC chief executive David White said: "I just want to congratulate everyone involved on the constructive manner in which the entire process was conducted."

"It was evident throughout that all parties shared a common interest in striking an agreement that was fair, progressive and good for the overall game in New Zealand," he added.

The new agreement also included a forecast investment of $1.94m (NZD 2.85m) into the cricketers' retirement fund over the four-year term.

Next in line are the contracts of the women cricketers, which expire on July 31 next year. The NZC is mulling at running both the men and women's deals concurrently.

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IANS