Cricket Australia (CA) boss Kevin Roberts has taken the unusual step of apologising to staff as selectors finalised contract lists for the most uncertain of summers according to the Australian Associated Press.
Chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns will on Thursday reveal the identity of the 20 men who made the cut for 2020-21, during which Australia are slated to host a Twenty20 World Cup and face India in a much-anticipated Test series. Shawn Flegler, who heads the women's selection panel, will also announce the 15 players set to feature prominently in Australia's ODI World Cup campaign next year.
There are expected to be few changes to last year's women's squad. Nicole Bolton and Elyse Villani are likely to miss out, while Tayla Vlaeminck and Annabel Sutherland headline those vying for inclusion.
For the men, Usman Khawaja (pictured above), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Marcus Harris, Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh and Marcus Stoinis all haven't played for Australia since last year's marathon tour of England, which included a World Cup and Ashes series. The group of six are likely to lose their national contracts.
Test batsmen Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Wade and Joe Burns are likely to be added to the list, having earned upgrades in 2019-20 after being initially overlooked. Players are ranked by selectors and paid an income that corresponds to where they sit in the pecking order, with top-ranked Pat Cummins believed to have pocketed a base salary of approximately $AUD 2 million in 2019-20. Labuschagne could easily join Cummins, Steve Smith and David Warner in the upper echelon of the list. The right-hander is yet to prove himself a three-format threat, but backed up a home summer featuring four Test tons with a maiden ODI century in South Africa.
COVID-19 uncertainty continues to cloud this summer's schedule and CA's revenue projections, ensuring stars will be notified of what percentage cut of the overall pool of funds they will take home rather than a set figure. The governing body's financial woes have not affected the number of contracts being handed out this week.
CA remain in talks with the players' association after Roberts stood down the vast majority of CA's staff for the rest of the financial year. Roberts, speaking to staff during a video chat on Wednesday, apologised for the manner in which he communicated the need for such drastic measures. The CA chief executive will address state counterparts on Thursday, hoping to get a 25-per-cent cut to their funding across the line.
State associations will be able to finalise their own domestic contracts after CA's lists are submitted.
John Stephenson
john@cricketinvestor.co.uk
