Zimbabwe-born legspinner Peter Younghusband, who has made cameos on the field as a substitute for New Zealand, gained the final Wellington contract as New Zealand's six major associations completed their signing of players for the upcoming season. Wellington had signed 14 players in the first round of the contract process last month.
Younghusband will assist Jeetan Patel and Luke Woodcock in the Wellington spin department.
Younghusband was told by Wellington coach Bruce Edgar that he would miss the cut, before the side knew of former New Zealand batsman Hamish Marshall's availability. Marshall wasn't contracted, but would be available for selection from early October, after ending his 11-year association with Gloucestershire.
"I'd been told 3-4 weeks earlier that I'd missed out, so I thought it was back to zero and it was going to be another tough winter training and rushing off to work," Younghusband told stuff.co.nz. "To get the text and meet up with Bruce, I was so grateful."
Canterbury filled their 15-man quota by adding former Under-19 left-arm spinner Jeremy Benton. Canterbury coach Gary Stead lauded Benton, but also said that he might not get too many opportunities in the upcoming season.
"He's not a massive turner of the ball, but he's a smart cricketer," Stead said. "He's got some really smart leadership capabilities. He's an excellent fielder. I think he'll turn into a real quality spinner. He may not get a massive load of opportunities this year. Down the track, he'll be an integral part of our Canterbury line-up."
Auckland signed Sean Solia while Northern Districts added Tony Goodwin. Central Districts and Otago had two slots open at the second round. Otago picked up batsman Sean Eathorne and seamer Michael Rae while Central Districts signed seamers Navin Patel and Bevan Small.
The domestic contracts for this season have also been extended by one month and will run from September 1, 2016 to April 15, 2017. This was done after NZC and the players' association agreed to extend the contract period to seven-and-a-half months.
Auckland Cody Andrews, Brad Cachopa, Mark Chapman, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Donovan Grobbelaar, Michael Guptill-Bunce, Shawn Hicks, Dane Hutchinson, Tarun Nethula, Rob Nicol, Robert O'Donnell, Glenn Phillips, Jeet Raval, Sean Solia
Canterbury Todd Astle, Leo Carter, Michael Davidson, Andrew Ellis, Cameron Fletcher, Peter Fulton, Kyle Jamieson, Timothy Johnston, Kenneth McClure, Cole McConchie, Edward Nuttall, Henry Shipley, Logan van Beek, Will Williams, Jeremy Benton
Central Districts Tom Bruce, Dane Cleaver, Greg Hay, Marty Kain, Andrew Mathieson, Ryan McCone, Ajaz Patel, Seth Rance, Jesse Ryder, Ben Smith, Blair Tickner, Ben Wheeler, William Young , Navin Patel, Bevan Small
Northern Districts James Baker, Jono Boult, Dean Brownlie, Joe Carter, Anton Devcich, Daniel Flynn, Zak Gibson, Brett Hampton, Nick Kelly, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Bharat Popli, Tim Seifert, Josef Walker, Tony Goodin
Otago Warren Barnes, Michael Bracewell, Derek de Boorder, Jacob Duffy, Ryan Duffy, Josh Finnie, Jack Hunter, Anaru Kitchen, Rhys Phillips, Hamish Rutherford, Christi Viljeon, Sam Wells, Brad Wilson, Sean Eathorne, Michael Rae
Wellington Brent Arnel, Hamish Bennett, Tom Blundell, Fraser Colson, Matt McEwan, Iain McPeake, Stephen Murdoch, Ollie Newton, Michael Papps, Jeetan Patel, Michael Pollard, Matt Taylor, Anurag Verma, Luke Woodcock, Peter Younghusband