Agar, Stoinis, Behrendorff and Tye to take freelancing route without Western Australia contracts

Experienced Australian cricketers - Ashton Agar, Marcus Stoinis, Jason Behrendorff and Andrew Tye have all been left out of Western Australia's contract list, giving them the flexibility to seek freelance franchise opportunities.

All four would have surely found themselves in Western Australia's (CA) first-choice Marsh Cup 50-over team and have not retired from international cricket. However, none of them are on WA's contract list for the 2024-25 season. It comes after Agar and Stoinis were left off Cricket Australia's 2024-25 contract list while Behrendorff is Australia's reigning T20I player of the year.

Agar's absence is the most significant of the four as the spin-bowling all-rounder opted not to take a state contract to pursue freelance opportunities in other parts of the world. His decision is in part driven by the lack of opportunities he got late last season, as the WA team management persisted with Corey Rocchiccioli as the first-choice Sheffield Shield spinner.

Ashton Agar took the tough call after consulting WA's general manager of high performance Kade Harvey, WA coach Adam Voges, Australia coach Andrew McDonald and Australia's chairman of selectors George Bailey. This will allow the 30-year-old to play franchise cricket during the Australian summer, with the SA20, ILT20, BPL and PSL all played during Australia's domestic season.

Last year, Tye signed a one-year contract with WA and it prevented him from participating in ILT20 due to the Marsh Cup final. The right-arm pacer has opted to take the freelance route once again as he did for the two seasons prior. Meanwhile, left-arm seamer Behrendorff will be going in the freelance direction for the first time in his career, having earned a CA upgrade in 2023. He had a year to run on his previous WA deal but opted to terminate it early to give him more flexibility.

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However, Agar, Behrendorff and Tye will all remain involved in WA's scheme of things when they are not playing franchise cricket overseas even though they aren't contracted and will be selected for Marsh Cup games when available. Agar has expressed his interest in playing Shield cricket whenever an opportunity may arise. All four would only need to play four Marsh Cup matches to qualify for a contract upgrade if they opted to take it.

"Ashton, Jason and AJ will continue to be supported by our High Performance program as valued members of the WA Cricket setup," Harvey said.

Marcus Stoinis still mulling over his franchise contract options

Meanwhile, the 34-year-old Marcus Stoinis did not play a single game for WA last season. He only played four Shield matches and two Marsh Cup games since March 2020. He had long been planning to go freelance after missing out on a CA deal for 2024-25 but he still intends to play for Australia beyond the T20 World Cup in June in both the white-ball formats. It is understood that Stoinis is considering the possibility of signing a year-round contract with his IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants, which would see him commit to playing for the franchise's various teams across a few different tournaments around the world across the calendar year. The star all-rounder has represented Durban Super Giants in SA20 this year and is currently plying his trade in the IPL.

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Stoinis said earlier this year he was still open to playing for WA whenever he is available, including Shield cricket. Stoinis has formed great bonds with many people at WA cricket and it is understood further discussions may be had around his playing schedule later in the year.