21 Jul 2026Northern Districts Cricket has named right-arm pace bowler James Naylor as the final contracted men’s player for the 2026/27 season. This is Naylor’s first domestic contract, rounding out an impressive list of 16 coached once again by BJ Watling and Daniel Flynn.
Naylor is a Counties-Manukau man and has been part of the ND A programme for a number of years. He made his First-class debut in November 2025, playing three games with best figures of 4/74 against the Firebirds. Although injury curtailed the second half of his season, he’d more than shown he could perform at Plunket Shield level and earned his place on the 2026/27 contract list.
The Northern Districts women’s contract announcement will follow later in the year along with domestic competition schedules.
Northern Districts Men 2026/27 Contracted Players
- Xavier Bell
- Josh Brown
- Joe Carter
- Katene Clarke
- Kristian Clarke
- Henry Cooper
- Matt Fisher
- Zak Gibson
- Brett Hampton
- Nick Kelly**
- Scott Kuggeleijn
- James Naylor*
- Robbie O'Donnell
- Ben Pomare
- Tim Pringle
- Snehith Reddy**
*First domestic contract
**Returning to Northern Districts contract list
Head Coach: BJ Watling
Assistant Coach: Daniel Flynn
