Cricket Australia announces list of contracted players for 2016/17

Cricket Australia today announced the list of centrally contracted players for 2016/17. There were many vacant spots available following the retirements of Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Ryan Harris, Mitchell Johnson, Chris Rogers and Shane Watson over the past 12 months.

The list had seven new faces – including in-form batsmen Usman Khawaja, Adam Voges and Joe Burns. Pacemen Nathan Coulter-Nile, John Hastings and Peter Siddle, along with wicketkeeper Peter Nevill have also earned contracts.

Surprising, Adam Zampa, the young leg-spinner, was ignored and did not make the cut. Zampa, who shone at the World T20 2016, was left off Cricket Australia’s initial list of contracted male players for 2016-17.

Zampa would consider himself unlucky to miss out after having a successful World T20 campaign. On the contrary, fast bowler Pat Cummins could be deemed fortunate to retain his spot on the list after being injuries ridden for most of the time last year.

The base deal for a centrally-contracted player is reportedly around (AUD) $250,000. There is one more centrally contracted player compared to last year, with selectors able to select between 17 and 20 initial players each year.

Players are included on the list based on their performances over the past year, but those that missed out can still be upgraded to a central contract based on their number of national team appearances.

Rod Marsh, Australia’s chief selector, said the group chosen were “right in contention to represent the country over the next 12 months”.

“There is a lot of talent within this group and we have confidence that the players chosen can be successful in all three forms of the game, against a range of opposition, in a variety of conditions,” he said.

“Following a number of high-profile retirements, we believe this group of players gives us a healthy blend of youth and experience to represent Australia at the highest level, allowing us the best chance of maintaining our number-one rankings in Test and ODI cricket, as well as improving our performances in the T20 format.”

Cricket Australia Contracted Players 2016-17

George Bailey, Joe Burns, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Patrick Cummins, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, John Hastings, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Peter Nevill, James Pattinson, Adam Voges, Peter Siddle, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner