Zero. That is how many talking points there were following New Zealand Cricket's latest round of contracts.
The top 20, released yesterday, was so blindingly obvious we put it in the newspaper on Saturday.
Even the inclusion of all-rounder Mitchell Santner for the first time would not have raised many eyebrows. He nabs the spot legspinner Ish Sodhi occupied.
Spinners have been taking an awful pounding in limited-over formats, so Santner's ability with the bat was the obvious attraction, and his left-arm spin was more of a bonus.
Word is Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor and Tim Southee occupy the top five spots.
Gee - who would have guessed that? They are the first players picked, no matter what format, and their performances during the past 12 months have enthralled us all.
Martin Guptill's stocks have risen now he is back playing all three formats. And who will forget his undefeated double century in the World Cup quarterfinal?
Corey Anderson, Tom Latham, Adam Milne and Matt Henry are all important players for the Black Caps as the team looks to build on its impressive form during the next five years.
BJ Watling is the No 1 test keeper and his contract was never in jeopardy.
Limited-overs gloveman Luke Ronchi might have been a bit nervous but his ability to come in down the order and finish off an innings contributed to his retention.
Grant Elliott and Doug Bracewell return to the list.
Elliott's contract is reward for a wonderful World Cup. He is not really a genuine bowling option at the top level.
But he is a heady player, who can rotate the strike and find the boundary during the clutch moments as we saw against South Africa during THAT semifinal.
Bracewell's off-field indiscretions have been forgiven. That was signalled loud and clear when he got the nod ahead of Otago's Neil Wagner for the second test against Sri Lanka in Wellington earlier this year.
Otago all-rounder Jimmy Neesham is back bowling off a long run-up, following a layoff for injury, and retains his place.
Test spinner Mark Craig is also safe for another year.
Fellow Otago spinner Nathan McCullum can probably count himself a bit lucky and Wagner kept his spot - just, probably.
Auckland's Mitchell McClenaghan must have been close to dropping off the bottom of the list as well. Auckland batsman Colin Munro joins Sodhi in the rejects pile.
He is a bully at domestic level but question marks remain about his temperament and ability to succeed at the top level.
The only other name missing from last year's list is Kyle Mills and that is down to his retirement.
The good news for Otago is that it does not have to contract Wagner or Nathan McCullum. And with five nationally contracted players, the Volts have more contracts available for the next generation of cricketers trying to make their way at domestic level.
National contracts start at $81,461 and increase in increments with the highest-ranked players paid an annual retainer of $200,259.
Match payments are fairly lucrative as well. Players earn $8287 for a test, $3592 for a one-dayer and $2348 for a twenty20 international.
