Tess Flintoff earns maiden CA central contract; no place for Jess Jonassen

Cricket Australia (CA) have announced the names of 18 players in their women's national contract list for the 2025-26 season. All-rounder Tess Flintoff earned her first full-time contract, while batter Georgia Voll was retained after an upgrade last summer. However, experienced all-rounder Jess Jonassen has been excluded from the refreshed list.

Contracted players for 2025-26

Darcie Brown, Tess Flintoff, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham.

"Tess is an exciting young player who we can see having a long future in the green and gold. Having overcome injury, we're looking forward to seeing her fit and firing throughout summer, which adds further depth to our pace-bowling stocks," Shawn Flegler, Cricket Australia's Head of Performance (Women's Cricket) and National Selector, was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

"Georgia has made a sensational start to her international career, showing her immense talent from the onset and playing a pivotal role for the team in the absence of Alyssa Healy at the top of the order. Her ability to adapt to the various formats has been impressive and will come into play with an ODI World Cup later this year and a multi-format series against India in the new year. While Jess Jonassen has not been included on this year's list, we're always keeping an eye on players outside of the squad, and she is no exception," the former Australian cricketer added.

Tayla Vlaeminck, who is one of the fastest bowlers in women's cricket, has retained her contract. She is currently doing rehabilitation after dislocating her shoulder during the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup.

It is important to note that players not awarded contracts as part of the initial squad can earn upgrades throughout the year by accumulating 12 upgrade points: five for a Test match, two for an ODI, and two for a T20I.

After completing a whitewash over England in the Women's Ashes to start the year, Australia celebrated the memorable triumph by beating New Zealand 3-0 in a T20I series in March. They will look to defend their Women's ODI World Cup title later this month in India.