Finn Allen Joins Perth Scorchers, Turns Down New Zealand Central Contract

Finn Allen, an extremely talented player from New Zealand will be joining Perth Scorchers on a two-year contract. The signing is yet to be officially announced.

Allen has showed masterclass performance with utmost consistency in the T20 format, he has the strike rate of 168.60 with at least 3000 runs. He is behind Andre Russell of West Indies. In the T20 World Cup 2022, he showed a stunning performance against Australia. Despite a great record, Allen went through a rough patch in the T20 World Cup 2024, he scored only 35 runs in four innings.

Devon Conway has also declined the New Zealand central contracts and has entered into a 'casual agreement' just like Kane Williamson. He has made himself available for international series except for the one against Sri Lanka, due to his participation in the SA20.

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"Firstly, I'd like to thank New Zealand Cricket for their support through this process. The decision to move away from a central playing contract isn't one I've taken lightly, but I believe it is the best for me and my family at this present time. Playing for the Blackcaps is still the pinnacle for me and I'm hugely passionate about representing New Zealand and winning games of international cricket," Conway was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as saying.

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Tom Latham, New Zealand Test vice-captain criticized New Zealand Cricket and asked for more flexibility while giving the central contracts.

During the 2023-24 season, the Perth Scorchers faced challenges with their opening partnership, despite England opener Zak Crawley notching two half-centuries in just six innings. To remedy this, they recruited Allen for the current season, given his stellar T20 record. With 126 T20 matches under his belt, Allen has accumulated 3,544 runs at an explosive strike rate of 168.60.