Usman Khawaja has been rewarded by Cricket Australia for his Man-of-the-Series performance against Pakistan with a new contract.
He is joined by Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, and Marcus Stoinis who have all regained full Cricket Australia contracts while Scott Boland, Josh Inglis, and Mitchell Swepson have been included in the list for the first time.
Cricket Australia has also increased the contract list from 17 players to 20.
Jhye Richardson is a surprise omission from the list as the young fast bowler underlined his enormous potential by taking a match-winning five-wicket haul in the second Ashes Test in Adelaide last December.
He also played a significant role in the T20 series against Sri Lanka in February but has struggled to maintain full fitness during the summer.
Having played just one Test during the Ashes, Richardson missed the recent Marsh Sheffield Shield final after suffering a hamstring injury.
Also off the list are the retired James Pattinson, Tim Paine, and Kane Richardson.
Cricket Australia contracts average more than $1 million, with the best players receiving up to $2 million in salaries alone.
Travis Head was the Ashes player of the series while Khawaja enjoyed a fairytale return to Test cricket with a string of centuries against England and Pakistan.
Scott Boland had a spectacular debut series during the Ashes as well and Mitch Marsh cemented himself as a top-order white-ball batsman while helping Australia win the T20 World Cup.
Josh Inglis has now firmly established himself behind wicket-keeper Alex Carey and has already shown glimpses of his exciting talent in Twenty20 cricket while Swepson played all three forms last summer.
Players not awarded contracts as part of the initial squad of 20 can earn upgrades throughout the year by accruing 12 upgrade points.
Players receive five points for a Test match, two for a one-day International, and one for a T20 international.
Cricket Australia men’s contract list 2022-23:
Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner, Adam Zampa.
The women’s team was also rewarded with new contracts following their emphatic showing at this year’s ICC Women’s World Cup with leg-spinner Alana King being the most recent inclusion.
Contract list:
Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Meg Lanning, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham
