SYDNEY, April 15, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Fast bowler James Pattinson and opener
Marcus Harris were among Cricket Australia’s nationally contracted players
announced Monday, but there was no room for Cameron Bancroft, Peter Siddle,
or Marnus Labuschagne.
The list of 20 men’s players offered deals for the 2019-2020 season on the
basis of their performances over the past 12 months also included, as
expected, Steve Smith and David Warner despite neither padding up during the
period.
They were omitted last year after being banned over the ball-tampering
scandal in South Africa. Bancroft, who was suspended for nine months over the
same incident, missed out.
“We believe the 2019-20 contract list provides us with a versatile group
of players who can represent Australia across all three formats over the
contract period,” said chief selector Trevor Hohns.
“Our key criteria focused on selecting a pool of players who are going to
help us in our ambition to win the upcoming World Cup and Ashes series in
England, and who can also play the various formats over the course of the
Australian summer.”
Others to be overlooked included Joe Burns and Kurtis Patterson. They,
along with Labuschagne, recently played Test cricket.
Matt Renshaw, Kane Richardson, Billy Stanlake, Andrew Tye, Mitchell Marsh
and Ashton Agar, who previously had contracts, did not have them renewed.
Fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile, who wasn’t on the list last year, made
the grade, but Pattinson was the biggest surprise having battled back from
back surgery at the end of 2017.
The minimum value of a contract last season was Aus$286,000 (US$222,000).
This year’s figure was not released.
Contracted list: Pat Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Alex Carey, Aaron
Finch, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Josh
Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, James
Pattinson, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis,
David Warner, Adam Zampa.