Australia look to fast bowlers after revealing central contracts list
Wednesday 11 April 2018 17:26, UK
Fast bowlers were the main beneficiaries as Australia's post ball-tampering era began with a heavily altered list of nationally contracted players, minus the suspended Steve Smith and David Warner.
The list of 20 men's players offered deals by Cricket Australia for the 2018-19 season on the basis of their performances over the past 12 months included five first-timers.
Pacemen Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson and Andrew Tye were included, along with all-rounder Marcus Stoinis and wicketkeeper Alex Carey.
New Test captain Tim Paine and batsman Shaun Marsh rejoined the list but spinner Adam Zampa, fast bowlers Jackson Bird and James Pattinson, all-rounder Hilton Cartwright and wicketkeeper Matthew Wade were all excluded.
Chadd Sayers, who has played Test cricket in the past six months, also missed out.
The minimum value of a contract for the upcoming season is £156,000.
"This period is set to include a significant amount of limited-overs cricket, including the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in England and Wales," said national selector Trevor Hohns.
"For that reason, there has been a bit of a focus in this contracting period on white-ball cricket, as we look ahead to trying to win back-to-back World Cups."
Test opener Matt Renshaw held onto his contract after being named as a late replacement for Cameron Bancroft in the fourth Test against South Africa in March.
But Joe Burns, who also flew out to Johannesburg to help out after Smith, Warner and Bancroft were sent home over the tampering scandal, failed to make the grade.
"It's a tough process, but we're very satisfied with this group of 20 players," added Hohns.
"We think this a well-balanced list to represent Australia across all three formats."
Australia's next international fixture is a one-day international against England at The Oval on June 13 - the first in a five-match series - followed by a one-off T20 match at Edgbaston.
Full list of contracted players:
Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine, Matt Renshaw, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye.
