New Zealand Cricket has announced Bree Illing and Bella James have been awarded their first central contracts with the White Ferns for the 2025-26 season. Both players have impressed in domestic cricket to earn this opportunity. The new contracts were announced on June 17, 2025. Veteran players like Amelia Kerr, Suzie Bates and Lea Tahuhu retained their contracts while Bree and Bella got their first.
Bree Illing, a 21 year old left arm fast bowler for the Auckland Hearts, has made a big impact since her debut in 2022 and is the team’s top wicket taker. This season alone she took 29 wickets, including two matches where she took 4 wickets each in the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield. She also made her NZ debut in ODIs and T20Is against Sri Lanka and took 6 wickets overall, including getting Chamari Athapaththu out twice.
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Bella James, a batter for the Otago Sparks, has put in years of work in domestic cricket. She started playing at 16 and has been a consistent performer for her team. In her debut match for the White Ferns against Australia she hit a six off star bowler Megan Schutt.
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Both players were awarded contracts following Hayley Jensen’s retirement and Sophie Devine’s decision to go for a casual playing agreement after taking a break from cricket earlier this year.
Here’s the full list of players on central contracts for the White Ferns 2025-2026: Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Lauren Down, Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Bree Illing, Polly Inglis, Bella James, Fran Jonas, Jess Kerr, Melie Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer and Hannah Rowe.
