Smith, Warner back in Cricket Australia contract list

The pair had lost their central contracts last year after their involvement in the Newlands ball tampering episode. © Getty

Besides being named in Australia's 15-member World Cup squad, Steve Smith and David Warner have also been included in Cricket Australia list of contracted players for 2019-20 season, the board announced on Monday (April 15).

The former Australia captain and his deputy had been out of international cricket following their one-year bans in the wake of the Newlands ball tampering saga, and subsequently also lost their central contracts last year.

James Pattinson, who is in line to play the Ashes that follows immediately after the World Cup, has been included in the 20-player shortlist for the new season while Mitchell Marsh and Matt Renshaw have been left out.

Marsh has endured a tough season since being elevated as Australia's joint Test vice-captain. He lost his spot in the national side across formats due to poor performances - including twin failures against India in the Boxing Day Test match. However, Marsh Jr. Did not fall completely off the selectors' radar thanks to the century he ended the Sheffield Season with to earn a spot in Australia's 14-member four-day side to tour England in July.

Ashton Agar, Kane Richardson, Billy Stanlake and Andrew Tye are the players to miss out from last-year's roster, while Nathan Coulter-Nile, Marcus Harris and Adam Zampa have made it back to the contracted list of players.

"We believe the 2019/20 contract list provides us with a versatile group of players who can represent Australia across all three formats over the contract period," national selector Trevor Hohns said.

"Our key criteria focused on selecting a pool of players who are going to help us in our ambition to win the upcoming World Cup and Ashes Series in England, and who can also play the various formats over the course of the Australian summer," he added.

2019-20 Contract List: Patrick Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Alex Carey, Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, James Pattinson, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa