News

Jaques and Tait dumped from elite 25

JESSE HOGAN, JAMIE PANDARAM AND CHLOE SALTAU

15 May, 2009 08:56 AM

ELEVEN months after cracking 108 in the West Indies - his last innings for Australia - Phil Jaques's international prospects are in tatters following his exclusion from Cricket Australia's elite contracted player list.

Jaques and South Australian paceman Shaun Tait were the most prominent of the five players culled from CA's 25-man list, along with spinner Beau Casson, batsman Adam Voges and all-rounder Ashley Noffke.

Benefiting from their absence - and those of retirees Matthew Hayden and Stuart MacGill - were batsmen Phillip Hughes, Marcus North and Callum Ferguson, bustling paceman Peter Siddle and all-rounder Andrew McDonald. Off spinner Nathan Hauritz has also been promoted, his return to the list after a five-year exile increasing the likelihood he will be part of the Ashes touring squad to be announced next week.

The stunning introduction to Test cricket by 20-year-old Hughes - he averaged 58.53 on his debut tour, in South Africa - and the reliability of Simon Katich have blocked Jaques's return to the Test team.

An innings of 151 in a Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania at Newcastle in January sealed Hughes's selection as Hayden's replacement ahead of his NSW teammate Jaques, who yesterday revealed he required painkilling injections for a persistent back injury to play in that match.

"I was under the influence of cortisones. I was pretty desperate to get back on the park, and I wanted to do what was right by the team - Matthew Hayden was injured," the 30-year-old said. "I did everything I could to get back. I followed every time line given to me by my surgeon. It was just one of those things."

Jaques attempted a comeback from back injury before the South African tour but succumbed to further injury, requiring another operation six weeks ago.

He insisted he had not given up hope of reclaiming his spot in the Test side, despite his surprise omission from the contract list.

"It is obviously very disappointing. I suppose I have lost my contract because I've had injuries this past year," he said. "All I want to do is get back on the park. When I am fit and healthy I will put scores on the board, I know that."

Jaques conceded, however, that, "if something unforeseen was to happen to my back, I can't control it".

Tait's exclusion came after a season in which he played only six times for Australia - four one-day matches, two Twenty20 matches - and only four Shield matches for South Australia. The 26-year-old, who spent time away from cricket last year due to physical and mental exhaustion, was troubled in the latter part of the season by a lingering hamstring tendon injury.

A disenchanted Tait said he was considering his options after being culled from the contract list a month after the board prevented him from playing in the Indian Premier League.

Tait's omission from the elite list of 25 was not necessarily surprising - he is now regarded as a limited-overs specialist, and as a consequence has tumbled down the rankings - but it was intriguing in light of CA's recent handling of the powerful fast bowler, who only two years ago spearheaded Australia's World Cup victory.

He is understood to have declared himself fit for competitive cricket after hamstring injuries blighted his summer, but CA was more conservative and blocked his participation in the IPL, where he hoped to prove his fitness for the Twenty20 World Cup and earn $500,000 with the Rajasthan Royals.

Because he was contracted to CA, he had to abide by the decision. Tait and his manager, Andrew McRitchie, did not return calls last night but sources said he was deeply disappointed and exploring a variety of options to restart his career.

He recently expressed a desire to come back for the latter stages of the IPL, and has even discussed using his father's English heritage to secure a position in county cricket.

Chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said Tait was not out of calculations but suggested his body's capacity to withstand the rigours of international cricket remained a concern. "He is desperately disappointed with this decision, which is understandable, but he took it extremely well, which is probably because he is such a great bloke," Hilditch said. "Underneath all that I am sure he is hurting but I'm also sure he will come back strong. Shaun has been told he got a one-day ranking but was not, when the formula was put together, in the 25 contracted players.

"It is very important to realise this is really the first stage in our process. During each year players from outside this contract list often play cricket for Australia then get upgraded contracts."

Who's in and who's out

Doug Bollinger

Nathan Bracken

Stuart Clark

Michael Clarke

Callum Ferguson

Brad Haddin

Nathan Hauritz

Ben Hilfenhaus

Brad Hodge

James Hopes

Phillip Hughes