Trent Boult’s ‘flexi’ contract with NZC will open a ‘can of worms’, feels ex-coach Mike Hesson

New Zealand seamer Trent Boult didn’t sign the central contract with NZC for the current tenure as he wanted to play in the T20 Leagues around the world and spend more time with his family. 

However, with the 2023 World Cup scheduled to begin in less than three months, NZC and Boult have cut a ‘flexi’ deal between them that might see the left-armer remain available and play ahead of the contracted players and earn a bit more also – a situation the former head coach Mike Hesson feels uncomfortable with.

Speaking with Sky Sports, Hesson expressed his displeasure over Boult getting an unfair advantage over centrally contracted players who have put in hard yards to be here in the first place. Boult, who represented Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2023, will now feature for MI New York for the inaugural season of Major League Cricket (MLC).

“If you want the IPL and two or three or four other tournaments as well, you probably can’t have everything, and that’s a decision you’ve got to make at the start of the year, and I just think the flexi contracts just make it a bit untidy,” Hesson said on Sky Sports. “It just gets really untidy when you’ve got 20 contracts, or however many is on that [NZC] list now and then you have an extra one [for Boult], and next year you might have three extra ones and.”

Boult, who also appeared for the Blackcaps in T20 World Cup last year, is likely to get a go-ahead for this year’s WC. Hesson feels while it could be a win-win situation for both Boult and NZC, it remains unfair to the current breed of players who are also vying for a spot in the side for the World Cup.

“This flexi contract, it might work really well for Trent, and it might actually work well for New Zealand Cricket, but it does open up a whole can of worms,” Hesson added.

Boult wants some extra dollar now

Alongside Hesson, New Zealand’s former assistant coach Craig McMillan shared the same views. McMillan said though he respects Boult for his services to New Zealand cricket, this current situation around the ‘flexi’ contract doesn’t sit well with him either.\

“It seemed only 12 months ago Trent Boult was more than happy to make his decision to move away from international cricket and take the riches of the T20 franchises around the world, and you couldn’t bemoan him that,” McMillan said.

“He’d had a wonderful career for New Zealand and been a great servant and now almost wants a little bit of a dollar each way. It’s a difficult one. It doesn’t sit overly well with me, and I’m sure it doesn’t sit with some of the other players within the setup who are doing the hard yards then have to move back [when they return],” McMillan added.