Phil Hughes stays; Shaun Marsh comes in; Pat Cummins, Ed Cowan, Xavier Doherty, Ben Hilfenhaus, Clint McKay and Matthew Wade lose their contracts.
That’s the wash-up from this year’s announcement of the 2014/15 Cricket Australia contracts.
You would say that McKay, a key limited overs player for Australia in recent years, and perhaps Xavier Doherty are a little unlucky to miss out. Phil Hughes being kept on shows that the selectors still see plenty of potential in him, and Shaun Marsh’s upgrade is telling as to where he stands with the current panel.
Compare it to Alex Doolan, the incumbent Test number three, who missed out on a spot.
It’s always tinged with controversy, but then it always will be with so few spots available for so many players participating in different formats.
In comments about the choices, National Selection Panel chairman John Inverarity said: “The selection of these players was based both on their performances from July 2013, a period in which Australian teams have had some very significant successes, and the expectation that they will feature prominently in the Australian Test, ODI and T20I sides during the forthcoming period.
“All of the 18 players selected for 2014-15 contracts currently hold a CA playing contract with Chris Rogers, Steve Smith, Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh having received contract upgrades during the previous period.
“Each of these four players has shown at various times why they are deserving of a contract and we expect them to continue playing an important role for Australia in one or more of the three formats.
“Those who have not been awarded new contracts are Ed Cowan, Patrick Cummins, Xavier Doherty, Ben Hilfenhaus, Clint McKay, Matthew Wade and four players who received upgrades last year, Usman Khawaja, Adam Voges, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Alex Doolan.
“Alex Doolan was close to receiving a contract and he is highly regarded by the NSP as the incumbent number three batsman in our Test line-up. He made his Australian debut less than two months ago and we look forward to him building strongly on the promising start he made in the three Test series in South Africa.
“Nathan Coulter-Nile also came close as he has had some impressive white-ball performances for Australia and was in the Test Squad for much of the Australian summer. The NSP would like to see Nathan continue to progress well and have another strong season in 2014-15,” Inverarity said.
Last year, 20 players were initially selected for the contracted players list, with an additional eight players upgraded to contracts during the season, having fulfilled the prerequisite of 12 upgrade points. Players receive five points per appearance in the playing XI of a Test, two for an ODI and one per T20 match.
The minimum retainer for the year is $250,000, while players require 12 upgrade points to earn a CA contract if they aren’t on this list. The value of this ‘upgrade contract’ will be $210,000.
2014/15 contracted players:
Name | State | Age |
George Bailey | TAS | 31 |
Michael Clarke | NSW | 32 |
James Faulkner | TAS | 23 |
Aaron Finch | VIC | 27 |
Brad Haddin | NSW | 36 |
Ryan Harris | QLD | 34 |
Phillip Hughes | NSW | 25 |
Mitchell Johnson | WA | 32 |
Nathan Lyon | NSW | 26 |
Shaun Marsh | WA | 30 |
Glenn Maxwell | VIC | 25 |
Chris Rogers | VIC | 36 |
James Pattinson | VIC | 23 |
Peter Siddle | VIC | 29 |
Steve Smith | NSW | 24 |
Mitchell Starc | NSW | 24 |
David Warner | NSW | 27 |
Shane Watson | NSW | 32 |
2013/14 Cricket Australia contracts:
Player | State | Age |
George Bailey | TAS | 30 |
Michael Clarke | NSW | 32 |
Ed Cowan | TAS | 30 |
Patrick Cummins | NSW | 19 |
Xavier Doherty | TAS | 30 |
James Faulkner | TAS | 22 |
Brad Haddin | NSW | 35 |
Ryan Harris | QLD | 33 |
Ben Hilfenhaus | TAS | 30 |
Phillip Hughes | SA | 24 |
Mitchell Johnson | WA | 31 |
Nathan Lyon | SA | 25 |
Glenn Maxwell | VIC | 24 |
Clint McKay | VIC | 30 |
James Pattinson | VIC | 22 |
Peter Siddle | VIC | 28 |
Mitchell Starc | NSW | 23 |
Matthew Wade | VIC | 25 |
David Warner | NSW | 26 |
Shane Watson | NSW | 31 |
Adam Voges | WA | 34 |
Alex Doolan | Tas | 28 |
Shaun Marsh | WA | 30 |
Usman Khawaja | NSW | 27 |
Nathan Coulter-Nile | WA | 26 |