Tickner, a Central Stags pace bowler, has played six ODIs and 11 T20s for the Kiwi team, while Allen, a 23-year-old Wellington batsman, has played eight ODIs and 13 T20s. Both were on the Blackcaps' winter tours of Ireland, Scotland, and the Netherlands. Allen was also on the team's most recent series in the West Indies and Australia. New Zealand coach Gary Stead stated that each of the newcomers to the central contracts list had been in the top 20 announced in May and had taken advantage of their opportunities in the interim.

"Blair's been in Blackcaps squads for all three formats over the past 12 months which is testament to his progress," Stead said. "He's a bowler who just keeps improving and we've been particularly impressed with his red-ball development, which saw him in the recent squads for the England and South Africa Tests. He knows the environment, understands his role, and bowls with good pace and aggression," said the coach. Allen, 23, is an up-and-coming batter with already over 600 runs in 21 internationals. The coach praised the batter and claimed that the batter has great potential.

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"Finn clearly has huge talent and potential," Stead praised the batter. "He's shown he's up to the international level in his limited opportunities to date. In particular, his match-winning 96 against West Indies on a difficult wicket in Barbados showed his class and maturity," said Stead. New Zealand will next be seen in a home T20 Tri-Series along with Pakistan and Bangladesh starting on October 7. 

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