FIle photo of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis. These two along with Ashton Agar were left out of the Cricket Australia’s central contract list for the year 2024-25.
| Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

Veteran opener David Warner, who has retired from ODI and Test cricket, along with all-rounders Ashton Agar and Marcus Stoinis, was on March 28 dropped from Cricket Australia’s list of centrally-contracted players for the 2024-25 season.

Besides, Victoria opener Marcus Harris and pacer Michael Neser have also missed out on contracts that were offered to 23 players, stated a report by ‘cricket.com.au’.

Australia have a hectic season ahead that will feature the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies in June and a home Test series against India towards the end of the year among other engagements.

Warner’s omission was expected as he intends to call it quits from the game after the T20 World Cup. He is currently in India, playing in the IPL for Delhi Capitals.

Stoinis is the most notable omission. However, the 34-year-old, who is currently playing with Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL, remains in contention for the upcoming T20 World Cup despite missing Australia’s recent tour of New Zealand with a back injury.

Pacers Xavier Bartlett and Nathan Ellis are among those who have been offered contracts for the first time.

Bartlett (25) and Ellis (29) are joined by Victoria and Adelaide Strikers batter Matt Short (28), and Western Australia all-rounder Aaron Hardie (25) as the four new faces on this year’s central contract list.

The four players have already made their international debut for Australia.

Short and Hardie made their debuts during last year’s T20 series in South Africa, while Ellis played in Australia’s ODI and T20I tour of South Africa, and T20 campaigns in India and New Zealand.

He, however, missed the home white-ball series against the West Indies due to a rib injury.

“Matt, Aaron and Xavier have been extremely impressive in the early stages of their international careers,” national selection chair George Bailey was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au “Their performances and the way they have embraced the international stage has been exciting to watch.

“The panel believes they have strong futures and are deserved of their contracts as they work towards striving to become regulars in the Australian setup.”

Cricket Australia contracted men’s players 2024-25

Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, 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.

Australia’s Travis Head during the 1st Betway ODI between South Africa and Australia at Mangaung Oval on September 07, 2023 in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Australia’s Travis Head returned to nets on Sunday having recovered from a fracture on his left-hand, and the middle-order batter is expected to travel to India on Thursday to join his country’s World Cup squad.

Head had his protective splint removed from his hand on Friday. The South Australian had suffered a fracture on his hand after getting hit by South African pacer Gerald Coetzee at Centurion ahead of the World Cup.

Although he might miss Australia’s fixture against Pakistan on Friday in Bengaluru, Head could feature against the Netherlands on October 25 in Delhi, provided he passes the fitness test.

“It’s coming along well, and probably better than we hoped. When we decided not to go with surgery, which would have meant a 10-week recovery, we were told it would be minimum six weeks with the splint before we could look at playing again,” Head was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

“Going by that plan, the Netherlands game will be just under six weeks from impact, which is a pretty aggressive date, so everything would have to go perfectly from here to make that deadline,” he added.

Considering the nature of the injury, Head said he was still ascertaining his ability to field.

“I’m not sure what it will mean for fielding. We haven’t explored that yet,” said Head.

“There’s still a few hurdles we need to clear, and everything needs to fall into place from my end and from the team’s point of view over there before the final decision is made,” he added.

Australia are yet to taste a win in the World Cup and they are placed ninth on the 10-team table after having lost both their matches.