Cameron Green bags his first Cricket Australia contract

Cricket Australia (CA) have announced a list of 17 players who have been offered contracts for 2021-22. The contracts have been given to those who have performed consistently over the course of the last 12 months or so. The likes of Travis Head, Matthew Wade, Mitchell Marsh, Joe Burn and Marcus Stoinis have not 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,” national selector Trevor 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.”

However, Cameron Green, who played all four Test against India recently has been offered a CA contract for the first time in his career. Green also smashed 922 runs in the recent Sheffield Shield season at an average of 76.83, which included three centuries.

“Cameron is a player we believe will play an important role for Australian cricket after his impressive breakout summer,” 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 international level. His domestic form was also outstanding, and we expect he will only get better with more international exposure,” he added.

Hohns went on to explain the reasoning behind the size of the contract list. “There are two main reasons behind the size of the contract list announced today. 

“Firstly, we have seen format specialisation 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.

“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 cover all forms of the game for the 12 months ahead.”

Contracted players: 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.

(With inputs from Cricket Australia media release)