Smith, Warner out of central contracts
In what feels like grim times for Australian cricket, Cricket Australia have drawn up central contracts for 2018-19 that includes five new faces and the absence of former captain and vice-captain Steve Smith and David Warner along with Cameron Bancroft.
Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson and Andrew Tye have been awarded central contracts for the very first time in a list that is dominated by white-ball specialists.
Cricket Australia selector Trevor Hohns, meanwhile, believes that the players in the new contract make it a very well-balanced one while also adding that the length of the contract covers even the World Cup 2019 to be held in Wales and England and, as a result, the focus has been on limited overs’ specialists.
Selector Trevor Hohns said: “We think this a well-balanced list to represent Australia across all three formats.
“This period is set to include a significant amount of limited-overs cricket, including the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in England and Wales.
“For that reason, there has been a bit of a focus in this contracting period on white-ball cricket, as we look ahead to trying to win back-to-back World Cups.”
While a World Cup without Steve Smith and David Warner representing Australia is quite unimaginable, there is a good chance for none of the two players to be in the squad due to their domestic ban and the subsequent lack of match-practice prior to the World Cup.
The absence of the trio, however, doesn’t mean that they can’t feature in the World Cup. As vague as the chances of seeing them at the World Cup next year may be, they could still make a miraculous comeback to represent the Baggie Greens on the grandest stage of it all.
