Tim Paine, Australia’s 46th Test captain, returned to Cricket Australia’s national contract list for the 2018-19 season after missing out on the initial list last year, while five players were awarded contracts for the first time in a new-look list of 20 announced on Wednesday.
Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, all currently serving bans for their roles in the ball-tampering incident during the Cape Town Test last month, did not feature in the list comprising men’s players to represent Australia across formats next year.
Paine missed out initially in 2017-18 but was upgraded to a national contract later in the year. He might not feature regularly in the limited-overs formats, though, given the inclusion of Alex Carey, the wicket-keeper who is one of the five new faces.
Kane Richardson, Andrew Tye and Jhye Richardson, the fast bowlers, and all-rounder Marcus Stoinis are the other new names in the squad.
“This is an exciting opportunity for these players, who all deserve to be on this list. Andrew is an experienced bowler, who has been able to translate strong domestic performances onto the international stage in white-ball cricket. Alex is the second wicket-keeper in this squad, alongside Tim Paine. He is a promising young player who has had a strong domestic summer and performed well in his international opportunities to date with bat and gloves. Richardson has been a regular in limited-overs matches Kane Richardson has been a regular in limited-overs matches,” says Trevor Hohns, the national selector.
Hohns says Kane has been rewarded for strong performances in the Sheffield Shield and his efforts when selected for Australia in limited-overs cricket, where he continues to impress.
“Jhye is a young fast bowler who has been on the fringe of selection in all three forms of the game. He’s an exciting prospect who has played ODI and T20 cricket for Australia this summer, and was in the Test squad for the recent tour of South Africa. Marcus is a player who has featured regularly for Australia in limited-overs cricket over the last 12 months, and is a player of promise who has impressed with his all-round capabilities on the international stage,” adds Hohns.
Chadd Sayers made his Test debut in Johannesburg against South Africa Chadd Sayers made his Test debut in Johannesburg against South Africa
Jackson Bird, who played the Boxing Day Ashes Test in Melbourne in December, and Chadd Sayers, who made his Test debut in Johannesburg recently, both missed out, as did the injured duo of James Pattinson and Nathan Coulter-Nile.
Adam Zampa, D’Arcy Short and Chris Lynn were the others to be excluded from the list.
However, as per Cricket Australia’s system, players not awarded contracts as part of the initial squad of 20 can earn upgrades throughout the year by accruing 12 upgrade points.
Players receive five points for a Test, two for an ODI and one for a T20I.
Australia’s next assignment is in England in June, for a limited-overs tour comprising five ODIs and a one-off T20I.
