Back to the Future! Nick Kelly Returns to Northern Districts

6 Jul 2026

A familiar and formidable name has been revealed in the latest Northern Districts list of contracted players: Explosive left-hand batter Nick Kelly is returning to his home Association. Kelly’s name appears alongside an impressive list which also includes the return of Snehith Reddy.

Kelly is an experienced operator. He has scored 14 First-class and five List-A centuries, and his form in white ball cricket saw him rewarded with BLACKCAPS selection for the recent ODI and T20 series against Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Kelly is very familiar with the Northern Districts (ND) stable. Originally from Counties-Manukau, he rose through the age-group levels and went on to represent the Association over four seasons from 2015/16 to 2018/19. “The Association has always been special to me” he says. “The thought of coming back at some point has always been there.”

“We’re really excited to welcome Nick Kelly back into the fold at ND” said Ian Sandbook, General Manager of Performance and Talent. “He’s a quality player and leader, and it’s a nice full circle moment to have him coming back home.”

After three seasons with Otago, he’s most recently been with the Wellington Firebirds where he captained in all three formats. Knowing many of the boys already, “hopefully coming back into the changing room will be seamless” he said, and his priorities are to “bring my experiences I’ve had over the past seven seasons to try help take this team to the next level and helping out the leaders of the group in any way I can.”

Off the field, Kelly’s looking forward to being around old friends. “Some of the boys in this team I’ve played cricket with since I was about 11-12 years old and consider them really good mates. Getting back around them and getting to play cricket together will be awesome” he says.

Snehith Reddy is another familiar name that reappears in the list. The 19-year-old right-hand batter/all-rounder made his first-class debut for ND in the final Plunket Shield match last season, performing well with both bat and ball. “We’re pleased to have Snehith back on the contract list” says Sandbrook. “He’s shown real resilience and growth in the last year and is someone we know will be a big contributor to ND for a long time to come.”

Sandbrook believes that this is ND’s “most balanced and potent contract list for many seasons.”

“We have a great mix of high-quality young talent and experienced, proven domestic performers. I’m looking forward to seeing our players continue to progress and have success as a group under the expert guidance of BJ Watling and Daniel Flynn.”

Jeet Raval, previously contracted with ND, has opted not to take a contract this season.

The 16th men’s contract will be announced in the coming weeks, with the women’s announcement to follow later in the year along with domestic competition schedules.