Australia announce central contracts for men’s cricketers, Sam Konstas rewarded

Australia have announced the central contracts for men’s cricketers for the 2025-26 season. Aaron Hardie, Sean Abbott, and Todd Murphy haven’t been included in the list, while Sam Konstas, Beau Webster, and Matthew Kuhnemann have been rewarded for their performances.

The list includes 23 players and has three changes from the previous year, with allrounders Sean Abbott and Aaron Hardie, along with spinner Todd Murphy, shown the door.

Konstas and Webster were impressive in the Test series against India, while Kuhnemann took 16 wickets in two Tests against Sri Lanka.

“Matt (Kuhnemann) was magnificent for us in Sri Lanka. Beau provides us stability with the bat and ball. The comeback of Cameron Green and Mitch Marsh will lead to healthy competition for places in the World Test Championship and West Indies tour.

“Sam is a promising cricketer who will continue to develop in first-class cricket and international matches,” Selection chief George Bailey said.

Tim David and Marcus Stoinis, the two white-ball specialists, were not considered for the contracts.

Cricket Australia men’s contract list 2025-26: Xavier Bartlett, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster, Adam Zampa