Final Otago contracts offered to Chu, Phillips

Max Chu
Max Chu
Otago back-up wicketkeeper Max Chu and former New Zealand under-19 team-mate Dale Phillips have been offered the Volts' final two contract spots.

Chu made his first-class debut towards the end of last season. The 19-year-old played three first-class games for the province.

The highly-rated gloveman represented New Zealand at the 2018 Under-19 World Cup alongside Phillips, so the pair are familiar with each other.

They also played with each other for a New Zealand XI against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Chu's contract offer is very much an investment in the future. He is unlikely to play a great deal of cricket with Mitch Renwick established as the leading wicketkeeper-batsman in the squad.

Renwick's batting is stronger but Chu showed potential with the bat following a gutsy innings of 41 against Auckland at the University of Otago Oval in March.

''He is a guy who really wants to be part of a professional outfit and wants to excel, so it is always good to have that type of ethic in the group,'' Walter said.

''In the few opportunities he had he certainly showed us from a keeping point of view ... that he is the No1 gloveman.

''And there is some nice resilience and grit with the bat and a desire as well to get out and bat and deal with whatever gets thrown at him.''

Chu, who is returning from a trip overseas and was not available for an interview, has leadership potential as well. He was head boy at Otago Boys' High School and he captained the school's first XI as well as Otago under-17 and under-19 teams.

Phillips is another who fits into the category of highly promising. The 20-year-old is the younger brother of Auckland wicketkeeper-batsman Glenn Phillips, who has played 11 twenty20 internationals for the Black Caps.

''He has been identified as a potential future Black Cap and we really want to be seen, moving forward, as an environment that provides opportunity for the best young cricketers in the country.

''And we see him as a player who will add real value to the Volts over a long period of time.''

The right-handed batsman will have to work hard for opportunities, though.

Northern Districts batsman Nick Kelly and Central Districts all-rounder Dean Foxcroft are transferring south and will add to the pressure for starting spots.

Neil Broom has unretired from red-ball cricket and joins experienced duo Anaru Kitchen and Hamish Rutherford in a much more formidable batting line-up which also includes gritty opener Cam Hawkins.

However, while the Volts have bolstered their batting choices, the seaming stocks are awfully thin. There are just four specialist seamers - Matt Bacon, Jacob Duffy, Michael Rae and Nathan Smith - in the squad of 16.

''For me the ideal is to have six seamers in your group. But unfortunately we really didn't feel like there was anyone we wanted to give those contracts to just yet.

''And certainly there weren't any guys who accepted our approach that were the top in the country.

''We have some contingencies around our bowling plans. Travis Muller is the standout [seamer] in the region.

''But with the qualification process it didn't make sense to give him a contract but he is very much part of our plans.''

Muller is South African but has signed a declaration of intent to qualify as a local player.

Jack Hunter has moved north to Canterbury and Tommy Clout was not considered ready for a playing contract.

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