Cricket Australia recently announced their list of 23 centrally contracted male players for the 2025-26 season, and it includes a few fresh faces. Sam Konstas and Beau Webster, who both made their first appearances during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, have caught the selectors’ eyes. They look like they’ll be solid additions to the Australian team moving forward. Another notable name is the left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann, who stepped up during the series in Sri Lanka and made a real impact.
These three players took the spots of Sean Abbott, Aaron Hardie, and Todd Murphy, who previously had their chances with the national team. Kuhnemann is expected to play an important backup role to Nathan Lyon in the spinning department. Chief selector George Bailey commented on Kuhnemann’s performance, saying, Matt was outstanding once again in Sri Lanka, and we believe he can play a key role over the next 18 months.
He continued praising Beau Webster, saying, In Beau’s case, he showed he could comfortably contribute at Test level, both with bat and ball. He also brings extra skills in the field, making the team’s balance better. With Cameron Green and Mitch Marsh back in the mix, Bailey pointed out that there’s going to be some great competition for spots in the upcoming tours for the World Test Championship and the West Indies.
Bailey also expressed optimism about Sam Konstas, noting what a great future he has ahead. “We see a lot of potential in Sam,” he said. “He’s young and still has much to learn at both the first-class and international levels.”
Here’s the complete list of players contracted by Cricket Australia for the 2025-26 season:
| Player | State | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Xavier Bartlett | QLD | Gold Coast Cricket Club |
| Scott Boland | VIC | Frankston Peninsula Cricket Club |
| Alex Carey | SA | Glenelg Cricket Club |
| Pat Cummins | NSW | Penrith Cricket Club |
| Nathan Ellis | TAS | Lindisfarne Cricket Club |
| Cameron Green | WA | Subiaco-Floreat Cricket Club |
| Josh Hazlewood | NSW | St George Cricket Club |
| Travis Head | SA | Tea Tree Gully Cricket Club |
| Josh Inglis | WA | Joondalup Cricket Club |
| Usman Khawaja | QLD | Valley District Cricket Club |
| Sam Konstas | NSW | Sutherland District Cricket Club |
| Matthew Kuhnemann | TAS | Clarence Cricket Club |
| Marnus Labuschagne | QLD | Redlands Cricket Club |
| Nathan Lyon | NSW | Northern Districts Cricket Club |
| Mitchell Marsh | WA | Fremantle Cricket Club |
| Glenn Maxwell | VIC | Fitzroy Doncaster Cricket Club |
| Lance Morris | WA | Scarborough Cricket Club |
| Jhye Richardson | WA | Fremantle Cricket Club |
| Matt Short | VIC | Northcote Cricket Club |
| Steve Smith | NSW | Sutherland Cricket Club |
| Mitchell Starc | NSW | Manly Warringah Cricket Club |
| Beau Webster | TAS | Kingborough Cricket Club |
| Adam Zampa | NSW | Sutherland Cricket Club |
Two players, Cooper Connolly and Nathan McSweeney, who debuted during the last four months, were unfortunately not included this time but had contract upgrades last season. Some other names who’ve been playing white-ball cricket but missed out on contracts are Jake Fraser-McGurk, Spencer Johnson, Tanveer Sangha, and Ben Dwarshuis. Interestingly, T20 specialists Tim David and Marcus Stoinis have been left off the contracts as well, even though they’ve had a constant presence in T20 matches.
Players who didn’t make the contracted list this season still have a chance to earn their contracts back if they play enough international games throughout the year.
