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Have the Roos been unfairly impacted by father-son/Academy draft rules?

Have the Roos been unfairly impacted by father-son/Academy draft rules?

Is it unfair on North Melbourne that arguably the best player in the draft has been unavailable to them three years in a row or is it simply the swings and roundabouts of the draft system?

In 2020, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan was tied to the Western Bulldogs via their Academy – the Roos had pick three and likely missed out on either Ugle-Hagan or Riley Thilthorpe depending on the Crows’ decision.

Last year, they were always likely to select Jason Horne-Francis, but had no ability to even pursue Nick Daicos, given his status as a Collingwood father-son.

Daicos has had a generational debut season with the Magpies, averaging 26 disposals per game, while Ugle-Hagan has begun to emerge as a key forward for the Dogs.

Compounding this, the top pick in the 2022 National Draft will likely be Will Ashcroft – a Brisbane father-son prospect.

Given the Roos are on the bottom of the ladder and stuck in a deep rebuild, have they unfairly missed out on the top talent available?

AFL draft expert Callum Twomey believes most clubs see the father-son rules as swings and roundabouts and every team will have their chance.

“I think it’s luck of the draw. Clubs will get different opportunities at different stages through father-son and Academy picks,” Twomey told SEN SA Breakfast.

“North Melbourne got Luke McDonald a little while ago and then Tarryn Thomas was the earliest next generation bid a few years ago, so swings and roundabouts to a degree.

“The timing for North Melbourne is obviously a bit different being back to back years.

“Last year they didn’t really have access to Nick Daicos, I know they didn’t bid on him, but they didn’t have access to him and this year Will Ashcroft is the number one player at this point.

“His other challenger has been George Wardlaw and if they both played all year it would’ve been interesting to see how close they would’ve been because Wardlaw has missed six or seven weeks with hamstring injuries, he missed some footy at the start of the year with illness as well.

“Overall I don’t think the clubs have a huge opposition to the father-son rule. I think they see that mainly it can just be luck of the draw and see what comes through.”

North Melbourne currently sits 18th and will hold pick one, but West Coast could still move into that spot if they suffer big losses to Fremantle and Geelong in the final fortnight.

Twomey is bullish on Ashcroft, believing he could be playing senior footy for the Lions this season.

“He’s Sam Walsh. That type of player. He’s relentless with his running from him, he’s added some burst this year which I think has made him really difficult to stop, ”Twomey said.

“He’s so consistent, he averages 35 touches in the NAB League, watched him have 38 on the weekend for the Sandringham Dragons, he just does it every single week.

“He’s starting to get a bit more attention too. I think he’s going to make a difference for Brisbane from day one.

“If he was thrown into that midfield (now) he’d make a difference as well. He’ll be playing a lot of footy next year.”





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Richards to race at Pukekohe Supercars round

Richards to race at Pukekohe Supercars round


Slade Perrins

The Nissan Primera Supertourer

Five-time Repco Bathurst 1000 winner Steven Richards will race a Nissan Super Tourer at the New Zealand Supercars round.

Richards is set to compete in the Archibalds Historic Touring Cars category, which supports the ITM Auckland SuperSprint across September 9-11.

He will step into Murray Sinclair’s Nissan Primera Super Tourer for the weekend, having driven the same model car for Garry Rogers Motorsport in the 1997 Australian Super Touring Championship.

Richards joins John Bowe and Greg Murphy on the grid, who were confirmed last month to drive two famous Ford Sierras.

This year’s Supercars round at Pukekohe Park Raceway is set to be the last at the circuit after it was announced the venue will close to motorsport activities in April 2023.

“The Historic Touring cars represent the great memories we all have of fantastic on track battles in iconic cars from various eras gone by,” said Richards.

“I’ve been privileged over the years to participate in the Skope classic and Bathurst legends events at Hampton Downs.

“Racing at Pukekohe for a final time is special. It’s where [Jim Richards] cut his teeth as a teenager, while Nanna and Pop watched under the big Oak trees on the hill and where Pops ashes were spread after his passing.

“I’ve had great memories driving here in Supercars, NZ V8 Super Tourers and I rate it in the top 4 exhilarating race tracks that I had the pleasure of driving at.

“Huge thanks to Murray Sinclair for trusting me with his Nissan Primera, a car which I’m quite familiar with.

“To Nigel and Jimmy for the prep and to Pete Sturgeon for the opportunity.”

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Serena Williams and Australian coach Rennae Stubbs flag double standards of mothers having to choose between sport and parenthood

Serena Williams smiles while holding her daughter in one arm and a big silver trophy in the other

As Serena Williams prepares to farewell the sport she dominated for two decades, an Australian coach has revealed the lengths young players on the women’s tennis tour are going to so they can have long careers without interruption.

Williams flagged in a Vogue article titled Serena’s Farewell that she was not far away from ending her tennis career, hinting that it may be after the US Open, which starts at the end of the month.

The 23-time major winner said “something’s got to give” for a number of reasons; partly because she turns 41 at the end of September, partly because of her many business interests that are a full-time job in their own right, and partly because she wants to have a second child.

Williams, who was two months pregnant with daughter Olympia when she won her last major, the 2017 Australian Open, pointed out that while she “loved every second of being pregnant” it was unfair that she had to choose one or the other while most male athletes do not.

“I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family. I don’t think it’s fair,” she said, pointing to 45-year-old father of three Tom Brady, who retired as an NFL quarterback and then un-retired last off-season.

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Rennae Stubbs on the choice women have to make around tennis careers and parenthood

“If I were a guy, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labor of expanding our family.”

Former doubles world number one Rennae Stubbs told Radio National Breakfast that many players on the WTA tour were exploring fertility options early in their careers so they could play tennis for a decade or more without missing their window to have kids.

“I know players who want to have children, who want to have a family, have [frozen] their eggs, because they want to play until their mid-30s or 40s,” Stubbs, who coached stars Sam Stosur, Karolína Plíšková and Eugenie Bouchard, said.

“And there’s so much money in tennis now, they want to keep going and they can sustain themselves and their families.

Rennae Stubbs speaks to Karolina Pliskova while sitting on the on-court chair during a tennis match.
Rennae Stubbs (left) has coached a number of players on the women’s tour, including former world number one Karolína Plíšková (right).(Getty: Chris Hyde)

“So they freeze eggs so they can have kids later on in life. But think about Tom Brady or Roger Federer or Rafa [Nadal] now; you can have children and keep playing because you’re not the one birthing it and taking nine months to have the child and then the recovery after the child.

“There’s no question that it’s way more difficult for women. No question about it.”

It is not only globe-trotting tennis players who have made the decision, with WNBA stars Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart, English Super Netball player Geva Mentor and USWNT forward Sydney Leroux speaking openly about their egg retrieval processes.

In a post on the Reproductive Health and Wellness Center’s website about UFC fighter Carla Esparza freezing her eggs, the Orange County-based IVF and fertility experts wrote that the procedure is becoming increasingly “popular with young professional women who lead busy, active lifestyles and don ‘t want to run the risk of waiting too long before starting their family for fear of egg viability.”

“Women in the professional athletic field often face the risk of fertility issues frequently, as the nature of intense athletic professions may put women at a higher likelihood of irregular ovulation,” the website reads.

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‘Greatest player’: Billie Jean King leads tennis tributes to Serena Williams | Serena Williams

Billie Jean King, the former women’s world No 1, has led tributes within tennis to Serena Williams, describing her as the sport’s “greatest player” following the 23-time grand slam singles champion’s announcement that she is retiring.

In a column for Vogue, the 40-year-old Williams described her intention to finish her playing career as an “evolution” away from tennis and indicated she could step away after the upcoming US Open.

“When Serena steps away from tennis, she will leave as the sport’s greatest player,” said King, the winner of 12 grand slam singles titles, including six at Wimbledon. “After a career that has inspired a new generation of players and fans, she will forever be known as a champion who won on the court and raised the global profile of the sport off of it.”

Speaking to USA Today, the former men’s world No 1, John McEnroe, said of Williams: “She should do whatever she wants. She’s an icon. Her place de ella in American society has gone to a place where she deserves it after everything she’s accomplished, everything she’s done.

“I don’t know the answer whether she wants to play again, I don’t think she needs to play again. Ella she’s at that level where Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Tom Brady are. Ella she’s like one of the all-time greatest athletes in the history of any sport – male or female. It seems to be a great place in her life. She she’s added a lot.

“Anyone who saw the movie [King Richard] realizes where they came from and where she is now is unbelievable so she can spend the rest of her life going ‘not bad huh?’”

Meanwhile, Coco Gauff, the current world No 11, hailed Williams as the very reason she took up the sport in the first place. “I grew up watching her. That’s the reason why I play tennis,” said Gauff after her first-round victory at the Canadian Open in Toronto on Tuesday. “Tennis being a predominantly white sport, it definitely helped a lot. Because I saw somebody who looked like me dominating the game. It made me believe that I could dominate too.”

Paying her own tribute to Williams, Emma Raducanu, the US Open champion, said: “She definitely changed the game. There’s not really been someone who has dominated like her in the women’s game. So I think she did change the game a lot in that respect.”

Pam Shriver, the former world No 3, added: “She [Williams] you have impacted tennis on the court and off the court. She’s taken tennis off the sports pages and into pop culture. She bridges people of all generations, diversity of background. She’s become a great spokesperson, a philanthropist and she’s matured before our eyes.”

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Nick Kyrgios defeats Sebastian Baez in straight sets

Nick Kyrgios has continued his red-hot form going into the US Open, but it was his opponent who stole the show with an incredible shot.

After winning both the singles and doubles in Washington earlier this week, Kyrgios advanced to the second round in Montreal with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Argentina’s Sebastian Baez, but it was the latter who produced a tweener lob that left the commentary team stunned.

“It could be one of the shots of the week, it could be one of the shots of the year, giving Nick Kyrgios a taste of his own medicine,” commentator Adam Fielder said.

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Kyrgios could only smile after feeling what so many of his opponents had felt over the years – what looked like a routine volley winner at the net was returned over his head, via an audacious between-the-legs shot from his opponent.

“Quite remarkable, incredible bit of skill from Baez,” added Miles Maclagan.

“He’s got a lot of ground to cover, almost overruns it – and then the flight, to perfection.

“He draws a smile from Kyrgios who knows he’s probably been outdone for shot of the match.”

At deuce and leading 5-4 in the second set, Kyrgios set up match point with a delightful drop shot, before an emphatic forehand sealed the deal.

Kyrgios stunned by ‘shot of the year’

The win was Kyrgios’ seventh-straight on the singles circuit, and now sets up a mouth-watering clash with Daniil Medvedev.

“Physically I feel fine, just mentally so tired,” Kyrgios said on court afterwards.

“It’s never easy – I haven’t really had much sleep in the last couple of days but I’m trying to put that behind me already.”

I have conceded that he hadn’t really “played great tennis” in Montreal in the past, and wanted to rectify it.

Kyrgios claims seventh career title

“I wanted to come out here today and just try and get that match-up. Obviously playing Medvedev next is a great test, and he’s obviously coming off a title as well,” Kyrgios said.

Kyrgios leads the head-to-head against the Russian 2-1 – beating him in the final at Washington in 2019, and in Rome in the same year – before losing to him at this year’s Australian Open.

“On rankings, he’s the number one in the world. Rankings don’t really say much, the guy I played today was ranked ahead of me – but Medvedev is a hell of a player, the way he plays is so unorthodox,” Kyrgios said.

“He’s a great competitor, and he’s just an animal. I’d like to see where I’m at.

“He’ll probably be feeling a little bit fatigued as well – I know I am, but I’m going to give it my best shot.”

Should Kyrgios win, it could potentially be an all-Australian clash in a round of 16, with Alex De Minaur taking on Grigor Dimitrov after beating Denis Shapovalov, 7-5 7-6.

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Lyon, Watson react to Melbourne’s reported interest in Grundy

Lyon, Watson react to Melbourne's reported interest in Grundy

How would Brodie Grundy fit in at Melbourne?

That is the question being asked after it was reported that the reigning premiers had met with the Collingwood ruckman.

The Demons’ interest in Grundy was reported by Sportsday’s Sam McClure and the Herald Sun’s Jay Clark on Tuesday.

In response to the reports, former Demons captain Garry Lyon and SEN Breakfast co-host Tim Watson discussed the potential of the move, provided youngster Luke Jackson departs the Dees for Fremantle.

“It has been reported that Melbourne are into or speaking to Brodie Grundy about, I would imagine, filling the void that they suspect – you wouldn’t be talking to him if you didn’t think that Luke Jackson is going,” Lyon said .

“Let’s just put that to one side. They might hold out hope that Luke’s staying and on the off chance (ask), ‘Brodie, what’s the chances?’

“How do you see that? Does Collingwood go, ‘If Brodie is going to go somewhere, we don’t want him to go to contend, we want you to go somewhere that’s not going to be a contender against us’.

“What’s your reaction? What’s your first gut reaction to hearing that?”

Watson responded by suggesting it is a clever move for the Demons to sound out Grundy.

However, he does wonder how Grundy would fit in with Max Gawn who is widely touted as the AFL’s premier ruckman.

“I think it’s just smart,” he said.

“A football club losing one of their young ruckmen and replacing him as best they can and as quick as they possibly can. That’s smart, that’s exactly what they should do.

“I just wonder though how he and Max Gawn would work in tandem.

“Because generally there’s one ruckman who is dominant and sits above the other ruckmen, although in Melbourne’s case it’s been a little bit more about the different ways their two ruckmen play and what they bring to the game.”

It prompted a back and forth discussion on how it may play out, given that Grundy is on massive money at the Magpies and how the Dees would navigate that salary as well as how they might deploy him if he were to switch clubs.

Lyons: “There’s also a needs basis that Max has got to go forward to try and clunk a mark which Melbourne’s forwards can’t do.”

Watson: “Has Grundy ever demonstrated that or has he not demonstrated that because he’s been required to play more on the ball as opposed to going forward?”

Lyons: “Well, that’s the thing. I look at it and go maybe they see Max transitioning a bit more to that forward role.

“They would do that with Luke Jackson, but if he goes then they’re thinking Grundy comes in and becomes more the 60-40 ruckman and Max is the 40-60 maybe.

“I don’t know. It was news to me when I read that from Jay Clark, so I’m trying to get my head around it.

“Melbourne, I wouldn’t think, could pay the 950 to a million, whatever Grundy is on.”

Watson: “Why though? Obviously, they would have been offering Jackson a lot of money anyway.

“What would they be offering him? 700 (thousand)?”

Lyons: “Yeah, maybe six (hundred thousand).”

Watson: “They’d have to go at least that deep.”

Lyons: “They’d have to have Collingwood pay some of the deal.”

The situation also sparked chat about Jordan De Goey, who has also been linked with a move away from Collingwood, and whether or not he’d be a better fit for Melbourne.

Lyons: “If you’re a Melbourne fan or a footy fan, what would be better for them? Grundy or De Goey?

“If you were to target a Collingwood person in this instance, which is a better fit? Grundy or De Goey?”

Watson: “It’s a needs basis. If Jackson goes, the need is for them to be able to replace Jackson.”

Lyons: “Then they’ve got a massive need in their forward half.”

Watson: “They have but it might be that player is not available now so they go for the one that is available, potentially, in Grundy.

“They go to the draft and find themselves a young forward.”

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Lyons: “De Goey is said to be available. He’s as available as Grundy.”

Watson: “Do you see him as a forward or a midfielder?”

Lyons: “Between he and Christian Petracca you get a damn good one of both.”

Watson: “He’d fit into that team nicely in some capacity.

“Of the two players, you can only keep one – Grundy or De Goey?”

Lyons: “If you’re Collingwood, I would probably keep De Goey.

“He’s got more strings to his bow (than Grundy). They’ve got (Darcy) Cameron and (Mason) Cox.

“De Goey can go forward or in the middle, he’s a match-winner. There’s a question mark if Brodie can get back to his best from him.

“That’s the way I would be going.”

While nothing may come of the interest, it definitely provides plenty to ponder.

Grundy is sidelined for the remainder of the season due to a stress fracture in his ankle, Captain Gawn is focused on leading the Demons to back-to-back premierships and Jackson is considering his future with the club.

Listen to the chat below:





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Malcolm Blight launches staunch defense of Mark Ricciuto, Adelaide board

Ricciuto “defiant” and “determined” to remain at Adelaide despite increasing pressure

Australian football legend Malcolm Blight has launched a passionate defense of Mark Ricciuto and the Adelaide board as pressure mounts following revelations surrounding the 2018 camp.

Veteran journalists including Damian Barrett, Gerard Whateley, Caroline Wilson and Mark Robinson have called for Ricciuto to step aside from his role as football director, given the light that has been shed on the camp.

Barrett said yesterday the Adelaide legend needed to move on to give the club a clean slate.

“(He’s an) all-time great footballer for the club. (But) I question the role and effect and manners of the role as a director of the football club and I would have thought his time at the club as a result of this, after a long time at the club with other questionable decisions, might be up,” Barrett told The Sounding Board podcast.

“Time to go… time for a fresh look, a fresh approach, and certainly a different, maybe more empathetic approach to the director role at that footy club.

“I’m not one to call for people to stand down, and this is an honorary job anyway, so he’s not going to lose any wages out of the role.”

Blight however has slammed those going after Ricciuto, saying the board would not be aware of every aspect of the camp and that the responsibility falls to the club’s football department.

“There’s a lot of uneducated people out there who don’t know how a board works,” Blight told Sportsday S.A.

“At the end of the season, they get beaten in a Grand Final, they brainstorm improvement – ​​if they’d asked me I would have said, ‘forget about it, move on, everyone’s going to lose’.

“They come up with other activities to try and get better and there’s nothing wrong with that. They come up with a camp, they get testaments from other organizations from somebody inside the Adelaide Football Club.

“What actually happens is the executive, the working people who get paid – the board do not get paid – the executive presents a case for abnormal activities and/or costings. That’s presented to the board.

“Questions are asked by the board members and of the infinite details, they don’t go down to the bottom. They don’t ask, ‘who’s going to say this, what’s the agenda, where they’re going to go up a tree, whether they’re going to go over an obstacle course, are they going to play Richmond music’, the board doesn’t ask that question, that’s got to be done at executive level. Not board level.

“So anybody out there including Mark Robinson, Gerard Whateley and anybody else talking about Mark Ricciuto or those board members, it wouldn’t have gone down that far.

“Boards don’t operate that way. The executives run everything and eventually present to the board.

“Why has Ricciuto (been under siege)? Give me the argument why Mark Riccituo and the other Adelaide board members shouldn’t be there. They don’t know every infinite detail. That’s not their role.”

Blight served on the inaugural board of the Gold Coast Suns, joining in 2009 and stepping aside in 2012.





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Tennis 2022: Nick Kyrgios’ ’emotional growth spurt’ puts world on notice, legend makes huge US Open call, Canadian Open Montreal

Tennis 2022: Nick Kyrgios' 'emotional growth spurt' puts world on notice, legend makes huge US Open call, Canadian Open Montreal

Nick Kyrgios says he has become more “resilient” and is still maturing while he is playing the best tennis of his career.

He continued his hot streak on Wednesday (AEST), defeating Sebastian Baez 6-4 6-4 in their first round match at the Canadian Open in Montreal.

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Kyrgios had his serve broken for the first time since his loss in the Wimbledon final, but recovered to claim a straight sets win.

The Australian is in superb form after he won both the singles and doubles titles at the Citi Open in Washington DC last week.

But Kyrgios is unseeded in Montreal and will next face World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, who he joked was far from the ideal opponent.

“I know I’ve got Medvedev next, which kind of sucks because against pretty much any player in the world right now I feel extremely confident,” Kyrgios told the Tennis Channel.

“Obviously I feel confident going up against him but we all know what he can produce. I’m a bit tired but I’m going to try and give him a good run.”

Kyrgios said having to play two matches in one day in Washington made him realize “that I can be really resilient at times”.

“In the past, I probably would have definitely pulled out of doubles,” he admitted.

“After the (Frances) Tiafoe match, I played Reilly (Opelka) and then Frances in the same day and came out the next day and played during the day basically.”

Kyrgios confessed he hadn’t always given 100 per cent effort on the court in the past but in a scary prospect to his rivals, he said he has turned a corner.

“I know at times I haven’t always been the best example going out on court, kind of not giving my best effort and all that,” he said.

“But I feel like when I have a week like DC, it kind of erases those things and shows how much I’ve grown. It was just a hell of a week, probably my favorite week of my career so far having my girlfriend and my team with me. And winning the doubles title was pretty special as well.

“I’m learning a lot about myself still to this day I’m maturing and hopefully I can keep having these good results.”

Kyrgios is now ranked World No. 37 and if he gets past Medvedev, a deep run at Montreal would ensure he secures a crucial seed at the US Open, which begins later this month.

Former US Open champion Andy Roddick believes Kyrgios is in such a purple patch he is one of the top three contenders to take out the last grand slam of the year.

“It’s a big, big deal to me that he goes into Washington, which is a pretty big event in the lead-up to the US Open,” Roddick said on The Rich Eisen Show.

“Brutal conditions… To go through singles and doubles and not to tap out mentally or physically is a big, big sign.

“I think it puts him into the top two, maybe three, favorites for the US Open.”

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Cameron Smith reportedly signs with LIV Golf, reveals fury at Cameron Percy

Australia’s recently crowned Open champion, Cameron Smith, has reportedly signed a $143 million deal to join Greg Norman’s LIV Golf.

It’s a move that will send shockwaves through the sport, given Smith is the most recent major winner, the world No.2, and also the reigning champion at the Players Championship, the flagship event of the PGA Tour.

The London Telegraph reports Smith will make his LIV Tour debut in Boston next month, although confirmation of his switch isn’t expected until after the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs, which start this week in Memphis.

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Another Australian golfer, Cameron Percy, told RSN radio on Tuesday that Smith and Marc Leishman were “gone”, indicating the pair would both sign with LIV, a comment that left Smith far from impressed.

“You know, my goal here is to win the FedEx Cup playoffs. That’s all I’m here for,” Smith said. “If there’s something I need to say regarding the PGA Tour or LIV, it’ll come from Cameron Smith, not Cameron Percy.

“I’m a man of my word and whenever you guys need to know anything, it’ll be said by me.”

Pressed further on the subject of LIV Golf, Smith added: “I have no comment to that. Like I said, I’m here to play the FedEx Cup playoffs. That’s been my focus the last week and a half.

“Like I said, it’ll come from me, it won’t come from Cameron Percy.”

Asked if he intended to play the Presidents Cup in late-September, Smith’s reply was emphatic.

“Absolutely,” he said.

“That’s something we’ve been looking forward to for the last three years. That’s something I look forward to being a part of.”

If Smith did play a LIV Golf event in early September, he would be banned from the Presidents Cup, meaning his comment that he intended to represent the International team in North Carolina effectively represents a denial of the London Telegraph report.

Smith then reportedly walked out of the media conference when asked another question about LIV.

Smith would be the highest-ranked player to join LIV Golf, which has already signed Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Sergio Garcia.

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The stars who’ve signed with Greg Norman’s LIV Golf tour

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New Zealand, Trent Boult, Blackcaps, Australia, shock announcement, T20, ODI, Test cricket

New Zealand, Trent Boult, Blackcaps, Australia, shock announcement, T20, ODI, Test cricket

The Blackcaps will begin a new era without one of their biggest stars after bowler Trent Boult was released from his central contract with New Zealand Cricket.

Boult will have a “significantly reduced role” across all three formats with the Blackcaps, according to a statement released by NZC.

The 33-year-old held multiple conversations with the country’s governing cricket body, before they agreed to his request on Wednesday so he can spend more time with his family.

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Boult has played a crucial role in New Zealand’s success on the world stage over the last decade, having taken 317 Test wickets, 169 in ODI’s and 62 in T20 internationals.

The talented left-armer sits at No. 1 on the ICC Men’s ODI Bowling Rankings, having taken 169 scalps at 25.21 since his international debut in 2011. He has also taken 317 Test wickets at 27.49.

The paceman said it was a “really tough decision” for him to make as he began to reflect on his decorated 12-year career with the New Zealand national teams.

“Playing cricket for my country was a childhood dream and I’m so proud of everything I’ve been able to achieve with the Blackcaps over the past 12 years,” Boult said.

“Ultimately this decision is about my wife Gert and our three young boys. Family has always been the biggest motivator for me and I feel comfortable with putting it first and preparing ourselves for life after cricket.”

Boult’s decision will likely have major implication for New Zealand cricket with Black Caps teammates potentially tempted to follow suit in bid to cash in on lucrative domestic T20 leagues.

The world cricket calendar is becoming tighter and tighter with the introduction of several privately-owned domestic leagues, including the United Arab Emirates’ International League T20 and South Africa’s newly-launched T20 competition.

Boult has played in an international final across all three formats, having tasted success in the inaugural World Test Championship final against India in England.

But while he’s been a mainstay of the New Zealand teams since making his Test debut in 2011 against Australia, he acknowledged that this decision would affect his chances of representing his country.

“I still have a great desire to represent my country and feel I have the skills to deliver at the international level. However, I respect the fact that not having a national contract will affect my chances of selection,” he added.

“Having said that, as a fast bowler I know I have a limited career span, and I feel the time is right to move into this next phase.”

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NZC chief executive David White said that Boult has been open about his decision, and why he requested to be released from his deal.

“We respect Trent’s position,” said Mr White. “He’s been completely honest and upfront with us about his reasoning about him and, while we’re sad to be losing him as a fully-contracted player, he leaves with our best wishes and our sincere thanks,” White said.

“Trent’s made a massive contribution to the Blackcaps since his Test debut in late 2011 and is now considered one of the best multi-format cricketers in the world. We’re very proud of what he’s achieved.”

According to NZC, Boult will still be available for national selection “if and when available”.

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