Melbourne: Cricket Australia (CA) on Friday announced a 17-player men’s contract list for 2021-22, with Cameron Green earning his first national deal.
Green’s contract comes after a bumper summer for the rising star, who debuted in Tests and ODIs against India in 2020-21.
He averaged 31.08 with the bat during the Border-Gavaskar series and scored 236 runs from four Tests. He then followed it up with an impressive Sheffield Shield season with 922 runs with three centuries and an average of 76.83.
“Cameron is a player we believe will play an important role for Australian cricket after his impressive breakout summer,” National selector Trevor Hohns said.
“His 84 in the second innings against India at the SCG demonstrated excellent technique and resolve and we are confident his bowling will be impactful at the international level. His domestic form was also outstanding, and we expect he will only get better with more international exposure,” he added.
Green is the lone new name on the contract list, with Joe Burns, Travis Head, Matthew Wade, Mitchell Marsh, and Marcus Stoinus all missing out.
Those who have missed out on the contract list are still eligible for national selection and can be upgraded to a central deal over the year, as Stoinis was in 2020-21.
CA’s men’s contract list has been trimmed down to 17 players from 20 in previous years, with Chairman of Selectors Trevor Hohns pinning the reduction on two reasons.
“Firstly, we have seen format specialization become increasingly prevalent in recent seasons which, accordingly, has resulted in a broader group of players representing Australia, often beyond the initial list of contracted players at the start of each year,” Hohns said.
“Secondly, we want to create an environment where players strive for national selection through consistent domestic performances and earn national contracts through consistent international performances.
There will continue to be opportunities and support for players outside this group to represent Australia and earn an upgrade to a central contract with strong performances throughout the year.
But in naming these 17 players, we believe we have a strong core group which covers all forms of the game for the 12 months ahead,” he added.
Hohns, however, clarified that the door is not shut on the players who haven’t been retained.
“There is a considerable amount of international cricket to be played across all formats in the next 12 months and the door to national selection is never closed to players outside this list,” Hohns said.
“The NSP continues to hold Joe Burns, Travis Head, Matthew Wade, Mitchell Marsh, and Marcus Stoinis in high regard and expect that they, and many others across Australian Cricket, will continue to make strong cases for national selection next season,” he added.
CA contract list: Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Tim Paine, James Pattinson, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner, Adam Zampa.