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Cricket Australia (CA) has unveiled the central contracts for the 2024-2025 season, awarding new deals to 23 players. However, the notable absence of veteran all-rounder Marcus Stoinis stands out as the biggest omission from the upcoming season’s contracts.
Marcus Stoinis’ absence
Stoinis, who recently dealt with injuries, was the part of the Australia‘s triumph in the ODI World Cup 2023 held in India. Nevertheless, his performance in the tournament was underwhelming, tallying only 97 runs and four wickets across six matches. Despite this, Stoinis remains in contention for a spot in Australia’s potential squad for the T20 World Cup 2024, slated to occur in the West Indies and the United States of America (USA) in June. But he is not among the players listed in the central contracts, alongside several other notable names.
Notable omissions and new talents
Apart from Stoinis, notable players like all-rounder Ashton Agar, opener Marcus Harris, pacer Michael Neser and the recently-retired David Warner are also left out of Cricket Australia’s list of central contracts. Instead, the board decided to extend new deals to a handful of promising new talents.
Further, Matt Short and Aaron Hardie are granted fresh contracts subsequent to their promotion to the contract roster earlier in the season. Alongside them, fast bowler Nathan Ellis also received a renewed deal, with Xavier Bartlett rounding out the list as the newest addition.
Also READ: Mitchell Marsh identifies the most crucial Australian player for T20 World Cup 2024
George Bailey’s confidence
Cricket Australia’s selection chair, George Bailey, expressed confidence in the players awarded new contracts, affirming their potential for enduring international careers. He underscored the rationale behind extending contracts to these emerging talents, emphasizing their promising future in the cricketing arena.
“Matt, Aaron and Xavier have been extremely impressive in the early stages of their international careers. Their performances and the way they have embraced the international stage have been exciting to watch. The panel believes they have strong futures and deserve their contracts as they work towards striving to become regulars in the Australian setup,” Bailey was quoted as saying by Cricket.com.au
Cricket Australia’s centrally contracted men’s players for 2024-25:
Sean Abbott, Xavier Barlett, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Jhye Richardson, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa.
