The ascension of Queensland quick Billy Stanlake to Cricket Australia's contract list has raised eyebrows in Australian cricket circles.
The changing face of the Australian cricket team was highlighted by Monday's announcement of CA's proposed list of centrally contracted players, which contains nine new names.
Stanlake and West Australian pair Hilton Cartwright and Ashton Agar will all receive contracts despite remaining on the fringe of the international set-up, while allrounder James Faulkner's fall has been underscored by his omission from the list. The international futures of veterans Peter Siddle and Shaun Marsh also look bleak after the workhorse paceman and mercurial batsman were overlooked.
As flagged by Fairfax Media last week, the lanky Stanlake is set to be contracted despite playing just two first-class matches, although no offer can yet be made due to the unsigned Memorandum of Understanding between CA and the Australian Cricketers' Association.
Stanlake played two one-day internationals and one Twenty20 international earlier this year, and has been named on the list even though he was not included in Australia's squad for June's Champions Trophy.
Adelaide-based agent Greg Size, who manages South Australian seamer Chadd Sayers, appeared bemused by the decision to give Stanlake a contract ahead of Sayers, who took 62 Sheffield Shield wickets over the summer.
"Obviously Stanlake is going to play in the Ashes tests this coming season ahead of Sayers. Fair enough, done the hard work," Size tweeted.
Cartwright's call-up is also  curious given he missed both that squad and the touring party for the trip to India earlier this year. He has been favoured ahead of fellow allrounders Marcus Stoinis and Moises Henriques, both of whom are in the Champions Trophy squad.
Agar – famously called up for his Test debut in England four years ago – is on the list for the first time.
Batsmen Peter Handscomb and Matt Renshaw have ,as expected, been named after breaking into the Australian Test team over the summer, while Travis Head and Adam Zampa are on the list – rewarded for their strong limited-overs form. Seamer Jackson Bird and wicketkeeper Matthew Wade both return to the list.
Faulkner misses out on a contract having been left out of the Champions Trophy squad announced last week. Siddle – who has played just once for Australia since February 2016 – faces an uphill battle to regain his spot, as do Marsh, Peter Nevill, Joe Burns, George Bailey and Nathan Coulter-Nile, all of whom have also been left off after making the cut last year.Â
Spinner Steve O'Keefe has missed out despite an impressive Test tour of India, continuing a horror month for the New South Welshman, who was fined $20,000 and banned from next summer's domestic one-day competition for a drunken incident at a Cricket NSW function.
John Hastings has also been dropped from the list but could be in line for an automatic upgrade if he plays regularly at ODI level, having been named in the Champions Trophy squad. Adam Voges is also off this year's list following his recent retirement.
CA selection chief Trevor Hohns praised Cartwright, Stanlake and Agar. "Hilton has thoroughly earned his spot in the list this year. He was the second-highest runs scorer in the Sheffield Shield last season and, when given his opportunity with the Test side last summer, he impressed," Hohns said.
"He is an exciting prospect for Australian cricket and we look forward to seeing him perform for Australia in the coming 12 months, if given his opportunity. Ashton is a talented young player who we consider offers a fantastic package with his batting, bowling and fielding, and someone who is capable of playing all forms of the game.
"Billy has picked up the last spot on the contract list for the coming season. We see him as a player of immense talent and a great option for Australia in the future. We want to be able to monitor his progress in the coming 12 months, not dissimilar to what we have done with Pat Cummins in the past."
CA's proposed list of female contracts has also been released, with teenagers Amanda-Jade Wellington and Lauren Cheatle included.
Australian Cricketers' Association chief Alistair Nicholson welcomed the release of the contract list but said there was a growing "wedge" between the players and the governing body, with a new pay deal far from settled.
CA wants the set-percentage revenue-sharing model, embraced since 1997, altered, with those not on a CA contract paid from a set pool.
"The absence of a revenue sharing model in CA's proposal is the number one element that drives a wedge between the players and the administrators at this point in time," Nicholson said.
"The revenue-share model has underpinned a very successful period in Australian cricket for the past 20 years and we consider it vital that all playing groups are afforded the opportunity to be partners in the game going forward."
Nicholson said the terms that underpin the CA contracts had not been finalised, leaving players and their families dealing with uncertainty. "The ACA has expressed a commitment to working with CA to reach a new agreement before the end of June but, in reality, we are still a long way apart on a number of issues," he said.
"The uncertainty created for a number of key stakeholders is not ideal as we know that alongside the players, it is their families, state associations, corporate partners and broadcasters all wanting to understand what lies ahead for the game."
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CA male contract offers for 2017-18:Â Ashton Agar, Jackson Bird, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, James Pattinson, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
CA female contract offers for 2017-18:Â Kristen Beams, Alex Blackwell, Nicole Bolton, Lauren Cheatle, Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Meg Lanning, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani, Amanda-Jade Wellington
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