Australia's 25 centrally contracted players for 07-08 released

[OZGOD]

Some new names in the mix with the retirements of Langer, Martyn, Warne and McGrath.

Australia Central Contracts

Cullen Bailey (South Australia, 22 years old)
Nathan Bracken (NSW, 29)
Stuart Clark (NSW, 31)
Michael Clarke (NSW, 26)
Daniel Cullen (SA, 23)
Adam Gilchrist (WA, 35)
Jason Gillespie (SA, 32)
Brad Haddin (NSW, 29)
Matthew Hayden (QLD, 35)
Ben Hilfenhaus (TAS, 24)
Brad Hodge (VIC, 32)
Brad Hogg (WA, 36)
James Hopes (QLD, 28)
Michael Hussey (WA, 31)
Phil Jaques (NSW, 27)
Mitchell Johnson (QLD, 25)
Brett Lee (NSW, 30)
Stuart MacGill (NSW, 36)
Ricky Ponting (TAS, 32)
Chris Rogers (WA, 29)
Andrew Symonds (QLD, 31)
Shaun Tait (SA, 24)
Adam Voges (WA, 27)
Shane Watson (QLD, 25)
Cameron White (VIC, 23)

[OZGOD]

Dizzy's been persevered with - maybe his time in the wilderness is ending with McGrath's departure. Good to see Chris Rogers and Adam Voges get rewarded for excellent Pura and ING Cup seasons. Look out for young Cullen Bailey - only 22 but a great (and currently only) legspinning prospect.

On the minus side, why is James Hopeless still there? I thought we'd pronounced the last rites on his ignominious career.

[cricman]

Originally Posted by OZGOD
Look out for young Cullen Bailey - only 22 but a great (and currently only) legspinning prospect.

Got some big shoes to fill, if he can handle replacing Warne he'll be fine expectations etc. he'll be fine and I saw Dan Cullen play Against us didn't impress me. If Magill wants to play till he's 40 he'll be an automatic selection.

Tait has been either a Hit or a Miss great 1 game mediocre the next.

[AsifTheManRahman]

Tait's like any other (real) fast bowler - wayward early on in his career. i bet he will get better with age, just like shohaib and lee did.

MacGill IMO is more effective than Warne. Warne's a magician, but MacGill gets more wickets. Too bad he was born in the wrong country. Any other nation, and he would've had more wickets than fatboy by now.

[OZGOD]

Originally Posted by cricman
Got some big shoes to fill, if he can handle replacing Warne he'll be fine expectations etc. he'll be fine and I saw Dan Cullen play Against us didn't impress me. If Magill wants to play till he's 40 he'll be an automatic selection.

Nobody's really expecting a 1-for-1 replacement for Warney. In any case, Warney was ordinary in his first few Tests - he really came into his own in 1993 in England. More likely, Warney will be replaced by a combination of players - maybe Bailey + MacGill, or Bailey + Cullen, or something else.

Dan Cullen has been in woeful form over the past year and needs plenty of time to work on his game.

Tait has been either a Hit or a Miss great 1 game mediocre the next.

Tait is talented, but inconsistent. He's your classic tearaway express bowler - fast but expensive. You get the good, the bad and the ugly with Tait - I once watched him bowl an amazing over in the ING Cup final last year, the over went something like this: dot, wicket, wide, four, no ball, wide, wicket, six, wide, wicket.

Like Jeff Thomson, you never know what you're going to get with Taity. Though I personally think he's better suited coming in at first or second change - his slingy action and express pace makes it very hard for him to control the new ball when it's swinging, hence he can spray it either side of the wicket. I've noticed that when the ball's a bit scuffed and older, he has much better control and that's usually when he makes breakthroughs.

[Farhad]

25 players and only one even close to the average age in the Bangladesh team. I never really realised how old Bret Lee is getting. No spring chicken at 30, esp for a quick bowler. Sad to see an amazing bowler like Macgill waste away his career without playing too many games. He hasnt got too many games left in him. Hed be a permanent fixture in any other team. Even the Asian XI...