HENRY COOPER TAKES FINAL PLACE ON NORTHERN DISTRICTS CRICKET CONTRACTS LIST

24 year old batsman Henry Cooper is announced as the final contracted player for the 2017-18 season.  Currently in England playing in the Pennine Cricket League for Rochdale, Cooper made his debut for ND in the Plunket Shield against Central Districts in November 2016, going on to play 5 Plunket Shield and 3 Ford Trophy matches across the season. 

James Pamment, Head Coach for the Northern Districts Plunket Shield and Ford Trophy teams is delighted that Cooper has earnt the final contract saying "It is always exciting when a young player receives his first professional contract and in the case of Henry Cooper it will be especially significant given that he is following in the illustrious footsteps of his father, ND legend Barry Cooper. Henry is a product of the Northland CA and NDCA HP programme and has come a long way in recent seasons. Back to back seasons in the UK have advanced his game considerably - learning the important craft of winning games of cricket, posting significant contributions and developing his all-round skills. 2016/17 in NZ was Henry's breakthrough season, he was outstanding for Northland through the District Association competition and he showed great application and skill by scoring his maiden First Class hundred and a very good half century against Auckland at Eden Park."

Brett Randell is also another young player who has been awarded his first ND contract, following on from a promising season with Northland, ND A and the ND senior men. Randell is currently playing for Honley Cricket Club in the Drakes Huddersfield Cricket League.

On the wider squad Pamment says pre-season training is going well  "(I am) Very happy with the skill-set balance and the mix we have between our experienced players and the up and coming chargers.  With all but two of our contracted squad having progressed through our Junior Development and HP programmes, the team is very much in line with our "Develop and Promote" philosophy. It is great to have Brent Arnel back with us after four successful seasons with Wellington.  Brent's experience, knowledge and skills will be a great addition to the squad. Equally it is exciting to have Daniel Flynn and Anton Devcich progressing really well following recent surgery. Both are vital members of the team and to have them back in training is a huge boost for the entire squad. Daryl Mitchell and James Baker are also progressing very well following their respective off-season surgical interventions, Mitchell (shoulder) and Baker (ankle) have both received positive reports in recent weeks".

The contract offer to Cooper completes the contracting process for the upcoming season for Northern Districts, a full list of domestic squads will be released today by New Zealand Cricket.

Northern Districts Contracted List for 2017-18:

Brent Arnel (Hamilton)

James Baker (Hamilton)

Dean Brownlie (Bay of Plenty)

Henry Cooper (Northland)

Anton Devcich (Hamilton)

Daniel Flynn (Bay of Plenty)

Zak Gibson (Waikato Valley)

Brett Hampton (Bay of Plenty)

Nick Kelly (Counties Manukau)

Scott Kuggeleijn (Hamilton)

Daryl Mitchell (Hamilton)

Bharat Popli (Bay of Plenty)

Brett Randell (Northland)

Tim Seifert (Waikato Valley)

Josef Walker (Hamilton)