Wellington. New Zealand batsman Tom Latham on Wednesday said the board will have to be more flexible with the central contract system as more players are opting out of it to pursue franchise cricket deals. In recent times, Kane Williamson, pacer Lockie Ferguson and Adam Milne made themselves unavailable for the latest batch of central contracts, although Williamson was given a contingent playing agreement to wear the Kiwi jersey whenever needed, taking into account his seniority and position within the team. This agreement means Williamson will only miss a couple of white-ball matches against Sri Lanka and when the contracts were announced, he expressed his commitment to international cricket. This change within New Zealand cricket began when pacer Trent Boult rejected a central contract deal in favour of more franchise deals and spending time with family.

Latham, who could be New Zealand's next ODI captain, was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo, “The cricket situation in New Zealand is a little bit different at the moment. It's certainly not a black-and-white situation, and it's certainly changing with all these leagues coming up. I think everybody is a little bit different about their future depending on their age or stage of life.” Latham said there is going to be a lot of cricket in the summer and the Champions Trophy is coming up next year, so in this case, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) will have to be more flexible with the contract systems. He said, “We've got a lot of cricket in the summer and there's a top ICC event, the Champions Trophy, which is eagerly awaited. So whether it's with different personnel, whether it's with the guys we're used to, whenever we can keep them, I'm sure that would be great, but I think we'll definitely have to be quite flexible about things in the future.”

In recent times, New Zealand have played some of their white-ball series without their key players, either due to rotation policy or clashes with the Indian Premier League (IPL) or other T20 leagues. This could happen once again when the Kiwis face Pakistan in March next year. Latham said that when the contract system was introduced, it worked really well, but now it is time to review it and change it according to the demands of a more hectic modern game. He said, “Don't know what the right system is, at the moment we have a lot of flexibility in our contracts, but with the changing landscape of cricket, I'm sure it will be something that New Zealand Cricket and the players' association will consider and try something new.”

He said, “We have seen over the years that at times we don't have those senior players. This gives me an opportunity to step up and lead as a senior player. But there are other players who have not had opportunities to step up into different leadership roles in the past. It's never good when you miss players of Kane's calibre, but it gives other players an opportunity to perform at their best.” Latham has led the Kiwis in 44 ODIs, including last year's 50-over Cricket World Cup, when Williamson suffered a thumb injury, in which they won 28 matches, lost 15 and one match was a draw. In their home season during the summer, the Kiwis will play six ODIs, including three each against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. After this, they will play a tri-series in Pakistan before the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan next year.