Bertus added to Blues squad

New South Wales have become the second state to make a late addition to their playing squad for the coming summer, handing wicketkeeper-batsman Nick Bertus his maiden professional contract.

Bertus has been a standout NSW Premier Cricket performer in recent seasons and has replaced off-spinner Will Somerville in the Blues squad for 2018-19.

Somerville was last month released from his NSW contract after the dual Australian and New Zealand citizen moved back to Auckland in a bid to represent the Black Caps.

Bertus has impressed at Toyota Futures League level, posting an unbeaten 128 for NSW Metro against the ACT in October while he also captained Parramatta to their first Premier Cricket title in 53 years last summer.

More recently, he played for the Southern Storm in the Northern Territory Strike League and received his contract offer while celebrating his 25th birthday in Darwin.

"Words probably can’t really describe how excited I was especially when I got the call," Bertus said.

"Obviously being around the (NSW) group a little bit last season, I know the guys quite well … and I can’t wait to get into training."

With Jay Lenton not handed a Blues contract for the coming season, it leaves captain Peter Nevill as the only specialist wicketkeeper in their squad.

Bertus took the gloves in one Futures League match last summer and could be an option should Nevill be unavailable at any stage next summer, but Cricket NSW high performance manager David Moore suggested his most likely route into the squad would be as a batter.

"He’s been a well performed wicketkeeper in grade cricket but we’re looking to give Nick a chance to stake his claim as a top order batsman," Moore explained.

"The opportunity for him to train and play full-time with the Blues will give him a chance to take his batting to the next level.

"It was a good opportunity for Cricket NSW to give a really well-performed batsman an opportunity to train full-time.

"Nick is a very good person and is highly respected in the cricket community. We are looking for him to bringing his high-level character traits into the Blues group."

It comes after Queensland added Chris Lynn to their playing squad for the coming season ahead of September's JLT One-Day Cup, with Jason Floros relinquishing his spot on the Bulls roster.

NSW announced their 2018-19 squad in May, confirming Australia T20 batsman Nic Maddinson had been released.

Fast bowler Gurinder Sandhu has moved to Tasmania, Ed Cowan and Doug Bollinger retired last summer while Jay Lenton was not offered a new deal.

In their place arrives a host of younger players, with Australia Under 19 captain Jason Sangha joined by Param Uppal, Dan Fallins, Mickey Edwards and Liam Hatcher as new additions.

NSW Blues contracted players for 2018-19: Mitchell Starc (CA), Pat Cummins (CA), Josh Hazlewood (CA), Nathan Lyon (CA), Ryan Gibson, Moises Henriques, Dan Hughes, Nick Larkin, Kurtis Patterson, Jason Sangha, Param Uppal, Peter Nevill, Dan Fallins, Arjun Nair, Steve O’Keefe, Sean Abbott, Nick Bertus, Harry Conway, Trent Copeland, Ben Dwarshius, Mickey Edwards, Liam Hatcher, Charlie Stobo, Henry Thornton. Rookies: Jack Edwards, Jordan Gauci, Ryan Hackney, Ryan Hadley, Baxter Holt, Chad Sammut.