Marnus Labuschagne Rewarded Australia Central Contract, Usman Khawaja Misses Out

Marnus Labuschagne, the first-ever concussion substitute, who made his mark in Test cricket from the word go has been rewarded with a central contract while top-order batsman Usman Khawaja has been omitted from the list of Australia’s centrally contracted players for the 2020-21 season, Cricket Australia said in media release.

Labuschagne saw a meteoric rise in the longest format and has cemented his place. Joe Burns has also been given a central contract along side Ashton Agar, Mitchell Marsh, Kane Richardson and Matthew Wade, players who all missed out on the initial list 12 months ago but earned upgrades during the year, according to the release.

Usman Khawaja, Nathan Coulter-Nile miss out on central contracts

The national selectors on Thursday named 20 men and 15 women who will be contracted for the next 12 months, among them South Australian Tahlia McGrath was a surprise addition on the women’s list having not played for the national side since 2017.

Khawaja, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris, Shaun Marsh and Marcus Stoinis have all missed out having been part of the initial list last year, the release said. Peter Siddle (retired) and Ashton Turner (omitted) have also been overlooked after they had earned upgrades during the year, it added.

CA men’s contract list: Ashton Agar, Joe Burns, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Tim Paine, James Pattinson, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

CA women’s 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