Alex Doolan has missed out on a Cricket Australia contract for 2014-15 despite being the incumbent No.3 in the Test team, while Shaun Marsh and Phillip Hughes have both been given deals. Cricket Australia has announced an 18-man contract list, down from 20 last year, with Ed Cowan, Patrick Cummins, Xavier Doherty, Ben Hilfenhaus, Clint McKay and Matthew Wade all left out having been contracted last year.
Doolan, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Usman Khawaja and Adam Voges had all been upgraded to full contracts during the year having made enough appearances for the national team, but all missed out on deals for next year. There were no additions from outside the group of contracted players, with Marsh, Steven Smith, Chris Rogers and Aaron Finch all holding on to their places having been upgraded throughout the year.
While most of the omissions were reasonably predictable, the absence of Doolan suggests that the selectors might look to Hughes or Marsh to fill the No.3 role when Australia next plays Test cricket, against Pakistan in the UAE in October. The fact that Hughes and Marsh are also considered ODI options may have helped their cause, given that Australia will host a World Cup during the next contract period.
Hughes was axed from the Test side during the unsuccessful Ashes campaign in England last year and has not worn the baggy green since, although he was part of the squad for the Test tour of South Africa and remains a prolific run scorer at domestic level. Marsh was recalled to the Test side in South Africa in spite of his lack of recent first-class runs and scored 148 in the win in Centurion, but was then dropped after making a pair in the next Test.
Doolan played all three Tests in South Africa and showed the kind of class that has appealed to observers of his Sheffield Shield form for Tasmania, but too often he squandered his starts and finished the trip averaging 31. John Inverarity, the national selector, said Doolan remained in the thoughts of the national selection panel (NSP) despite missing out on a contract.
"Alex Doolan was close to receiving a contract and he is highly regarded by the NSP as the incumbent number three batsman in our Test line-up," Inverarity said. "He made his Australian debut less than two months ago and we look forward to him building strongly on the promising start he made in the three Test series in South Africa."
The other player singled out by Inverarity as narrowly missing out on the 18-man group was Coulter-Nile, who has made himself a regular in the Twenty20 and one-day sides over the past year.
"Nathan Coulter-Nile also came close as he has had some impressive white-ball performances for Australia and was in the Test Squad for much of the Australian summer," Inverarity said. "The NSP would like to see Nathan continue to progress well and have another strong season in 2014-15."
The only contracted player who would be considered solely a short-form specialist was Finch, whose destructive batting at the top of the order in the T20 and ODI teams sits at odds with his struggle to perform for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield. George Bailey and Glenn Maxwell are likely to be more active in the short forms than Test cricket, although both men have worn the baggy green in the past 13 months.
Not surprisingly, Hilfenhaus and Cummins were cut having not represented Australia since 2012, while Cowan was unlikely to hold his deal having slipped out of the Test team after the first Ashes Test in England. McKay played 14 of a possible 16 ODIs since the current contract period began on July 1 last year but might face a challenge to retain his spot in the side, while Doherty has also fallen down the list.
Khawaja's absence from the list was expected after he was axed from the Test team in England, while Wade's demotion might raise the prospect of another gloveman such as Tim Paine challenging him for the position as backup to Brad Haddin. Voges was a solid ODI performer during the year but missed out on a deal, although it would not be surprising if he won an upgrade over the summer with a World Cup around the corner.
"This year, 18 [players] was deemed to be the natural cut-off point, and those who are on the brink and just outside will have the opportunity - if they earn selection - of being upgraded," Inverarity said. "It's up to them, those who are outside, to perform well, win selection and be upgraded."
The next contract period begins on July 1 this year and will include two Tests against Pakistan in the UAE, four Tests at home to India and a Test series away in the West Indies, and possibly the opening stages of the next Ashes series in England. The World Cup in Australia and New Zealand is the major limited-overs event on the calendar, scheduled to take place in February-March.
Marsh gets CA contract, Doolan misses out
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Marsh gets CA contract, Doolan misses out
