Cricket Australia has shaken up its mens central contract list with the deals for 24 players confirmed on Thursday ahead of this year’s Ashes and 50-over World Cup campaigns.
A total of five capped players who held deals last season have not been renewed, while neither has the retired Aaron Finch.
That opened the door to four players — who are also capped — being handed new contracts, while Todd Murphy and Lance Morris have been retained having earnt upgrades last term.
Here, we take a look at the winners and losers from Thursday’s announcement.
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LOSERS
MITCHELL SWEPSON
Hardly a surprise at this point, but it will sting all the same for the 29-year-old.
The leg-spinner broke into the Test team in 2022 but failed to make a strong enough impression in tours of Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Since then, Ashton Agar, Matthew Kuhnemann and Todd Murphy have all played over him as a second or third spinner, with the latter emerging as Nathan Lyon’s heir apparent during the tour of India.
Without a Test tour of the subcontinent coming up for Australia, there was simply no room for Swepson to be retained.
MATTHEW RENSHAW
Is there a more cursed man in Australian cricket right now?
Having not played for his nation since 2018, Renshaw clawed his way back to the top last summer as selectors looked for spin specialists with an eye on the India tour.
Renshaw was called up for the Sydney Test but tested positive for Covid on day one, before Sydney rain meant he faced just 11 balls in the Test.
His India tour was then a disaster, out for 0 and 2 in Nagpur, and then just 2 in Delhi where he only batted once having replaced the concussed David Warner.
By that point, Renshaw’s momentum had completely run out.
MATTHEW KUHNEMANN
Didn’t do his stocks any harm in India, which is why his axing might come as some surprise, but it was still hard to see where Kuhnemann would fit in in the contract list.
Australia’s next six Tests are in England, and then, later, a home summer. Australia. It’s hard to see selectors picking more than one spinner in many, if any, of those Tests.
Meanwhile, Agar is the clear favourite to partner Adam Zampa at the 50-over World Cup.
Kuhnemann’s time in Test whites is surely not over, but the 26-year-old will have to bide his time for another shot.
PETER HANDSCOMB
Arguably the stiffest on the list of snubs.
Handscomb also recently earnt a Test recall, and while he was far from setting the world alight in India, he was one of Australia’s better performers with the bat, notably making an unbeaten 72 in Delhi.
The fact Handscomb had a stellar Sheffield Shield season, too — he made 634 runs at 70.44 — and is one of Australia’s more experienced players in English conditions, makes his snubbing that bit harsher.
Nonetheless, there remains tough competition in Australia’s middle-order with Travis Head and Cameron Green holding down their spots.
Instead, selectors haved moved to bolster the bowling list with three of the four inclusions being seamers.
CAMERON BANCROFT
The former Test opener was a long shot to earn a contract but there was still a chance after his strong Sheffield Shield season.
There was daylight to Bancroft on top of this season’s run-scorers with the WA batter making 945 runs at 59.06.
His haul included four centuries, while no one else this season made more than two.
Furthermore, Bancroft has previously played in two Ashes series, although he struggled on his last trip to England in 2019.
WINNERS
TODD MURPHY
No surprises here. Murphy stepped up to Test level with ease in India this year, taking 7-124 on debut and averaging 25.21 with the ball.
Nathan Lyon ultimately still led the way for Australia, but Murphy wasn’t far behind in a clear sign he’s the man to take over from the off-spinner one day.
More chances in Test whites might be few and far between over the coming 12 months, but expect 22-year-old Murphy to be kept firmly within the set-up for the foreseeable future.
LANCE MORRIS
When was the last time this much anticipation built for a Test debut?
Lance Morris still hasn’t made his, but could get his shot in England this European summer with Australia playing the WTC final and five Ashes Tests.
Of the four players to earn new deals, only Morris isn’t capped.
It goes to show how highly rated the WA speedster is by selectors, who will look for the right time to unleash his raw pace.
Morris has taken 63 first class wickets at 25.42 and just helped his state to another Sheffield Shield.
MARCUS HARRIS
A little like the cat who’s had nine lives, Harris keeps coming back.
The 30-year-old has played 14 Tests for Australia across four different call-ups, and has failed to make his mark with an average of 25.29.
Off the back of some improvements over the past 12 months, including a successful stint in the County Championship, he remains sniffing around for a fifth.
Harris has twice lost his Test spot after an Ashes series — his 2019 campaign was disastrous, while his last appearance for Australia was the Sydney Test in 2022.
The left-hander also only averaged 37.56 in last summer’s Sheffield Shield, and isn’t a multi-format batter, which is why his spot on the contract list might surprise some.
Nonetheless, he averaged an impressive 42.70 for Gloucestershire last European summer to improve his chances of a crack at this year’s Ashes.
MICHAEL NESER
The Queensland veteran remains around the Australian set-up with his swing capabilities a potentially important asset to have in the UK.
Neser has toured England before, but his only two Test appearances have been in Adelaide, where he took seven wickets at 16.71 over the past two summers.
Selectors have in recent times been more willing to shake-up Australia’s bowling attack, although it’s likely Neser still sits behind Scott Boland in the queue.
JHYE RICHARDSON
Richardson has ridden more highs and lows for Australia than most 26 year old bowlers, having suffered untimely injuries on multiple occasions.
He hasn’t played a Test since December 2021, or a white ball game since June, but he’s earnt himself a CA contract again as a contender for both the Ashes and the World Cup.
During the last Ashes, former England captain Michael Vaughan said Richardson was going to be an “absolute star” for Australia, adding: “If you put a Duke’s ball in Jhye Richardson’s hands, I think he’s going to have a huge amount of success.”
This year could be his chance, should he continue to build momentum and stay fit.
Meanwhile, Richardson would be hoping for World Cup redemption later in the year having missed out on the 2019 edition due to a dislocated shoulder.
ASHTON AGAR
Calling Ashton Agar a ‘winner’ might be a little stretch, but he fits into the category given the damage done to his stocks in recent months.
Agar was riding high in January as he earnt himself his first Test re-call since 2017, while he looked set to play a big role in India.
But he struggled in Sydney, and continued to struggle in the nets thereafter before he, and selectors, mutually agreed that he should take a backwards step to work on his game.
It saw the likes of Murphy go ahead of him in the Test queue, but Agar’s contract likely means he at least hasn’t done any damage to his white ball stocks.
Cricket Australia contracted men’s players 2023-24:
Sean Abbott (NSW/Parramatta District Cricket Club)
Ashton Agar (WA/University Cricket Club)
Scott Boland (VIC/Frankston Peninsula Cricket Club)
Alex Carey (SA/Glenelg Cricket Club)
Pat Cummins (NSW/Penrith Cricket Club)
Cameron Green (WA/Subiaco-Floreat Cricket Club)
Marcus Harris (VIC/St Kilda Cricket Club)
Josh Hazlewood (NSW/St George Cricket Club)
Travis Head (SA/Tea Tree Gully Cricket Club)
Josh Inglis (WA/Joondalup Cricket Club)
Usman Khawaja (QLD/Valley District Cricket Club)
Marnus Labuschagne (QLD/Redlands Cricket Club)
Nathan Lyon (NSW/Northern District Cricket Club)
Mitchell Marsh (WA/Fremantle Cricket Club)
Glenn Maxwell (VIC/Fitzroy Doncaster Cricket Club)
Lance Morris (WA/Scarborough Cricket Club)
Todd Murphy (VIC/St Kilda Cricket Club)
Michael Neser (QLD/Gold Coast District Cricket Club)
Jhye Richardson (WA/Fremantle Cricket Club)
Steve Smith (NSW/Sutherland Cricket Club)
Mitchell Starc (NSW/Manly Warringah Cricket Club)
Marcus Stoinis (WA/Subiaco Floreat Cricket Club)
David Warner (NSW/Randwick Petersham Cricket Club)
Adam Zampa (NSW/Sutherland Cricket Club)
