Melbourne [Australia]: Pacers Nathan Coulter-Nile and Aj Tye have lost their state contracts with Western Australia, while, Cameron Gannon, who was the leading wicket-taker in the Sheffield Sheild last season has been picked up by Western Australia, a website reported.
Gannon had taken 38 wickets for Queensland in the 2019-2020 campaign, which was truncated due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Both Coulter-Nile and Tye are viewed as white-ball specialists and the coach of Western Australia, Adam Voges was looking to re-balance the squad to leave a mark in the Sheffield Shield.
"We identified at the end of last season that our bowling depth in Shield cricket and our spin stocks needed a boost and we're really pleased with our new additions to the squad. It's exciting to have Gannon come across to the West. He had a terrific season in red-ball cricket being the leading wicket-taker in Sheffield Shield cricket and will bring experience and leadership to our young bowling group," a website quoted Voges as saying.
"We were strong in the Marsh Cup last year and will be looking to start the season well in 50-over cricket. Our focus, no doubt, will be to improve our Sheffield Shield results, we were disappointing at the back end of last season and will be looking to rectify that this year," he added.
Leg spinner Liam O'Connor has also earned a contract with Western Australia after taking a five-wicket haul on his Shield debut last season while pace bowler Lance Morris has been upgraded to a senior contract.
Western Australia men's squad: Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Jake Carder, Hilton Cartwright, Sam Fanning, Cameron Gannon, Cameron Green, Liam Guthrie, Aaron Hardie, Bradley Hope, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kelly, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, David Moody, Lance Morris, Liam O'Connor, Joel Paris, Josh Philippe, Jhye Richardson, Corey Rocchiccioli, D'Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Turner, Sam Whiteman.
In the women's squad, Victoria leg spinner Alana King has made the move across the country.
All-rounder Heather Graham has switched to Tasmania while New Zealand allrounder Sophie Devine won't be available due to international commitments.
