When Cricket Australia announced the new player”s contract for the upcoming season of 2018/2019 some prominent names as expected were missing from it.
The dark episode of ball tampering which has officially come to an end with this announcement as captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner has been cut loose by Cricket Australia in the contracts released for 20 male players for the 2018/19 season.
Rookie opener Cameron Bancroft who was also banned for a year who got an axe from the contracts too. Other notable omissions from the 20 player Male contracted player list were Jackson Bird, Hilton Cartwright, James Pattinson, Matthew Wade and Adam Zampa.
The new names include Wicketkeeper batsman Alex Carey, bowlers Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Andrew Tye, and all-rounder Marcus Stoinis with one match veteran Chadd Sayers unlucky to miss out. National Selector Trevor Hohns said the squad is a “well-balanced list to represent Australia across all three formats”.
“This period is set to include a significant amount of limited-overs cricket, including the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in England and Wales,” Hohns said in a statement.
“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,” Hohns commented on the individual skills of the new recruits.
“Andrew (Tye) is an experienced bowler, who has been able to translate strong domestic performances onto the international stage in white-ball cricket,” Hohns said.
“Alex (Carey) 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. Kane (Richardson) 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,” Hohns said.
“Jhye (Richardson) is a young fast bowler who has been on the fringes 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,” National Selector Trevor Hohns.
“Marcus (Stoinis) 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-around capabilities on the international stage,” Hohns said.
CRICKET AUSTRALIA 2018-19 CONTRACT LIST :Â 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.
