Harris is a surprise inclusion in the list

Wellington: Veteran allrounder Chris Harris retained a place among New Zealand’s 20 contracted international cricketers but batsman Mathew Sinclair and bowler Ian Butler have been cut and left to consider their futures.

Harris, a 35-year-old one-day specialist with one shoulder held together by titanium bolts, was a surprise inclusion among the players placed on retainers on Wednesday by New Zealand Cricket (NZC).

Under its contract system, the NZC annually selects 20 players who receive annual payments and make themselves available for Test and one-day matches.

In a selection strongly influenced by New Zealand coach john Bracewell, Harris has been seen to have more value than Sinclair, who has scored two double centuries in Tests, and Butler, who was once the young hope of New Zealand fast bowling.

Butler, 23, said his omission from the contract list had serious financial implications but it was more worrying that he was not seen to be among the top 20 players in New Zealand.

Sinclair said he was considering quitting cricket or looking for a professional opening overseas after his rejection. “Words cannot describe how I feel at the moment, I feel like I have been fired from a job,” he said.

Sinclair averaged 28 in Test matches and 34 in one-day Internationals during the last contract period and said his form was better than some players who had been retained.

“Sure, I failed in a couple of innings against Australia, but I don’t think I was alone there and I also put my hand up to open against them last summer,” he said.

CONTRACTED PLAYERS

Nathan Astle, Shane Bond, Chris Cairns, Craig Cumming, Stephen Fleming, James Franklin, Chris Harris, Brendon McCullum, Craig McMillan, Hamish Marshall, James Marshall, Chris Martin, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Michael Papps, Scott Styris, Daryl Tuffey, Lou Vincent, Daniel Vettori, Paul Wiseman.