Pat Cummins, Travis Head set for pay rise amid contract cuts
Australia are preparing to whittle down their contract list so they can pay bonuses to the likes of captain Pat Cummins and maverick reliever Travis Head ahead of a non-stop schedule of 20 Test matches in 12 months.
Cricket Australia, which has offered as many as 23 central contracts in recent summers, will reduce that number to 21 with head of selection George Bailey announcing the list on Wednesday, with several white-ball players missing out as well as retired Usman Khawaja.
According to sources who spoke on condition of anonymity before the contract announcement, Glenn Maxwell will be among the neglected names. Maxwell’s omission comes as CA looks to offer attractive central deals to the Test and multi-format core of the national squad, which will compete against Bangladesh, South Africa, New Zealand, India and England over the course of the contract.
Sam Konstas is seen as unlikely to be offered a new CA deal after missing out on selection for the Ashes series, while Test wicket-taker Jake Weatherald looks likely to be offered his first full contract after earning a contract playing all five Ashes Tests last summer. Players can still earn incremental contracts by playing at least three Tests or an equivalent number of white-ball games throughout the year.
Cummins and Head have both made big offers to move away from international cricket recently and last week the skipper was frank when describing the choices the players he leads now face.
“Obviously it’s a big Ashes series, all the key players want to play in it,” Cummins had said. Sports Management podcast. “For example, we have two Test matches against Bangladesh in the Hundred this season. All our players who will play in this Test match have chosen not to participate in the Hundred auction, but this will not remain the case forever.
“Some of our players are saying no to half a million pounds for 20 days of work to play two Test matches against Bangladesh. I think that’s a point of tension. At the moment our players are so keen to play for Australia that they’re happy to give it up, but I don’t think we can accept that it’s going to continue like this forever.”
A number of other specialist white-ball players will also be missing, leaving only skipper Mitchell Marsh, batsman Adam Zampa and slower-ball maestro Nathan Ellis likely to remain on the list.
In contrast, the Test pedigrees of Brendan Doggett and Todd Murphy are set to be recognized with national deals. Doggett was excellent after stepping in to relieve injuries to Cummins and Josh Hazlewood in the 4-1 Ashes win over England, while Michael Neser also did a great job and will sign a contract in the same manner. Sean Abbott, who was in the Ashes squad until his knee injury, is also likely to not be in the squad.
Murphy, Matt Kuhnemann and Nathan Lyon will be central to Australia’s plans to win a Test series in India for the first time since 2004. The Aussies started poorly but learned a lot during the 2023 tour.
Reconnecting with spin mentor Craig Howard, Murphy became a strong contributor for Victoria when conditions allowed during the Sheffield Shield season and was part of the Australian squad for the Melbourne and Sydney Ashes Tests after Lyon tore his hamstring.
The number of Test matches to be played will rise to 21 if Australia qualify for their third successive world Test championship final, which will be hosted again in England ahead of the Ashes return match against Ben Stokes’ team.
“Our biggest challenge is that we are four years older from 2023,” head coach Andrew McDonald told SEN on Tuesday. “This will be a challenge for us, we have an aging group, how we manage them, but it is no different to other sports where players play older and their experience is valued.
“We’re going to use a lot of players on this journey as well, going deep into our stock because of the direction the program is going. It’s going to be a core cast of players who have the opportunity to do something great.”
Cummins has made it clear that he will continue to prioritize Test cricket, as will the CA contract system.
“Definitely prioritize [certain] series, but I’m still very keen to play all three formats,” Cummins said. “I think we can make it work right now. I love Test cricket. Normally we have around 10 Test matches a year, so I build my schedule around that.
“The IPL is there and normally there are one or two ICC events every year as well. [the next ODI World Cup] Another very important white ball tournament that I would love to be a part of. So that’s how we create most of the calendar. This one won’t move and then you look to see what will come in between.
“I had missed some ODI series before because we decided to spend two or three months in the gym, take some forced rest and get strong for a big Ashes series or whatever happens before that. I’m prioritizing it already. Hopefully I’m at a pace where I can keep doing it for three, four, five years and not have to give up Test cricket.”
Fast bowler Jhye Richardson will not be on the contract list after playing the MCG two-day Test last year.
Possible Cricket Australia contract list: Pat Cummins, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Mitchell Starc, Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Beau Webster, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland, Michael Neser, Brendan Doggett, Adam Zampa, Nathan Ellis, Josh Inglis, Jake Weatherald, Matt Kuhnemann, Todd Murphy.
Daniel Brettig is The Age’s chief cricket writer and the author of many books on cricket.Connect with: X.
