The pandemic has enforced a temporary stop in the sporting arena. Cricket is no different and is hard hit behind the lockdown. Nonetheless, the game is gearing up for the future. With Pakistani players taking tips from the coach online to stars motivating fans on different social media channels, the game is eagerly up and waiting for the outbreak to slow down.
There are also some people in the Australian cricketing setting who would be eager than before to warm up and play. The Australian cricket board or Cricket Australia announced the new contracts very recently. The national selectors announced names of 20 men alongside 15 women who will be given contracts from the boards. This contract is for a year or 12 months.
📢📢 Central contracts for 2020-21 Season announced.
Vlaeminck among Cricket Australia’s 15 contracted women’s players for 2020-21. pic.twitter.com/P7vIlzJD2l
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) April 30, 2020
The names have, as expected given way to a lot of discussions and analysis by fans and experts throughout the globe. One such trend was the inclusion of Tahlia McGrath into the women’s list of 15. Tahlia is from South Australia and interestingly has not been with the national side from 2017. The new names in the list for female cricketers are McGrath, as mentioned above, and young players – Tayla Vlaeminck and Annabel Sutherland.
The unfortunate players to have missed out and were dropped from the list are Elyse Villani, Nicole Bolton, and Erin Burns. It is interesting to find that Erin Burns was one of the few players to earn an upgrade last year. However, it has to be understood that players who have missed the initial chance of making into the contract list can, and are, often upgraded during the year as they get the call for the national team.
In the Aussie setting, a player has to gather 12 upgrade points to earn a contract. Share on X
The tests are worth four-point for women as opposed to five for men. Women cricketers get two points for ODIs and T20s respectively. Women’s national selector Shawn Flegler explained that the addition of McGrath into the side will give the side a backup pace option if injuries occur to Perry or Vlaeminck. Flegler said that McGrath has been performing consistently with the bat and the ball in the last few seasons.
Further, Tahlia shall add extra depth into the all-rounder department as Perry and Tayla will be coming back from long-term injuries. Moreover, the off-spinner Molly Strano and Burns, as per the national selector, are unfortunate to miss the list but will remain on the radar for selections. She emphasized the depth that the side had during the recent Women’s T20 world cup and will look to continue with the same strengths in the 2021 ODI world cup.
The players are paid from a percentage pool of the projected revenue for cricket in the next financial year. The amount, as per Cricket.com.au remains unknown as the pandemic has paused the fixtures.
Contract list: Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Meg Lanning, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham
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