Victorian spinner Jon Holland has not been offered a state contract for 2023/24, effectively ending his 16-year professional career, while veteran seamer Peter Siddle will return home next summer following a three-year stint with Tasmania.
Cricket Victoria revealed its men’s contract list for the 2023/24 summer on Wednesday morning, with Holland the surprise omission from the 27-player squad.
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The 35-year-old played four Tests for Australia between 2016 and 2018, taking nine wickets at 63.77 against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Last year, the left-armed tweaker joined Australia’s Test squad in Sri Lanka as injury cover for Ashton Agar.
Holland, who won three Sheffield Shield titles with Victoria, ends his first-class career as the state’s ninth-highest wicket-taker with 244 scalps at 32.11. During the recent home summer, he claimed 12 Sheffield Shield wickets at 28.75, leaking just 1.99 runs per over across seven first-class matches.
Brody Couch, Zak Evans, Mackenzie Harvey and Tom O’Connell were also not offered state contracts with Victoria, while Jake Fraser-McGurk accepted a move to South Australia. Former Australian white-ball captain Aaron Finch was the only other absentee, having retired from state and international cricket earlier this year.
“In any contracting process there are always difficult decisions and I’d like to thank all the players who are departing our program for their commitment to Victorian cricket,” Cricket Victoria’s head of men’s cricket David Hussey said in a statement.
“It would be remiss of me to not make a special mention of Jon Holland and Aaron Finch who have both made enormous contributions to our program, to our squads and to the success Victoria has enjoyed throughout their very successful careers. They both hold a special place in this era of Victorian cricket.”
Meanwhile, Siddle has penned a two-year deal with his home state, where he made his first-class debut back in 2005.
The former Test seamer, who turns 39 this year, migrated to Tasmania in 2020, less than 12 months after announcing his retirement from international cricket. He claimed 61 Sheffield Shield wickets at 25.57 in 20 first-class appearances for the Tigers.
Siddle, Victoria’s 13th-highest Sheffield Shield wicket-taker with 234 scalps, is one of several new signings for the state in 2023/24, alongside Matt Fotia, Tom O’Donnell, Tom Rogers, Liam Blackford, Dylan Brasher and Douglas Warren. Meanwhile, Fergus O’Neill, Sam Elliott, Ashley Chandrasinghe and Campbell Kellaway earnt upgrades from their rookie contracts.
“To have a player of Peter Siddle’s calibre and experience returning to support a young fast bowling group is exciting. He’ll be a great mentor for all of them,” Hussey continued.
“Peter is a very passionate Victorian and it’s fantastic that he’s able to finish his career at home.
“It’s really pleasing to recognise some of Premier Cricket’s best performers over the past couple of seasons with contracts and upgrade four of our rookies from last year. We’re focused on continuous improvement and it’s great to see those younger players starting to impact our match results positively.”
Victoria men’s contract list for 2023/24
National contract: Scott Boland, Marcus Harris, Glenn Maxwell, Todd Murphy
State contract: Ashley Chandrasinghe, Xavier Crone, Travis Dean, Sam Elliott, Matt Fotia, Peter Handscomb, Sam Harper, Campbell Kellaway, Nic Maddinson, Cameron McClure, Jono Merlo, Tom O’Donnell, Fergus O‘Neill, Wil Parker, Mitch Perry, Will Pucovski, Tom Rogers, Matt Short, Peter Siddle, Will Sutherland
Rookie contract: Liam Blackford, Dylan Brasher, Douglas Warren