Cape Town - CSA Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Tuesday announced a list of 21 players who have been awarded national contracts for the 2013/14 playing year.
The new contracts run from May 1, 2013 to April 30, 2014.
The group was approved by the CSA Board of Directors at their meeting at the weekend.
Four players - Dean Elgar of the Knights, Rory Kleinveldt of the Cape Cobras, Marchant de Lange of the Titans and Aaron Phangiso of the Highveld Lions - have been awarded contracts for the first time while Ryan McLaren of the Knights has been re-awarded a contract after missing out for the past 12 months.
Five players - Mark Boucher (retired), Ashwell Prince and Juan Theron of the Warriors, and Albie Morkel and Jacques Rudolph of the Titans - have dropped off the contracted list while Johan Botha was released from his contract at his own request after last year’s ICC World Twenty20.
“The newcomers to the list are all merited,” commented CSA selection convener Andrew Hudson.
“Dean Elgar has established himself in the Test squad while Rory Kleinveldt has done well across all three formats. Marchant de Lange was the first reserve for the Test squad until his unfortunate long-term injury and it is great to have him back operating at full pace.
“Aaron Phangiso has done really well at franchise level and has grabbed the opportunities he has had for the Proteas in the two limited overs formats.
“Ryan Mclaren has come back very strongly this season and, like Kleinveldt, has featured across the formats.
“This is a very strong group of core players which combines “youth and experience” across the three formats. There is no doubt that this group of talented cricketers will continue to successfully represent us on the international stage.
“We also have three exceptionally able leaders in Graeme Smith (Test cricket), AB de Villiers (ODI) and Faf du Plessis (T20).”
CSA contracted squad:
Graeme Smith (Cape Cobras), AB de Villiers (Titans), Hashim Amla (Dolphins), Marchant de Lange (Titans), JP Duminy (Cape Cobras), Faf du Plessis (Titans), Dean Elgar (Knights), Imran Tahir (Highveld Lions), Colin Ingram (Warriors), Jacques Kallis (Cape Cobras), Rory Kleinveldt (Cape Cobras), Ryan McLaren (Knights), Morne Morkel (Titans), Wayne Parnell (Warriors), Alviro Petersen (Highveld Lions), Robin Peterson (Cape Cobras), Aaron Phangiso (Highveld Lions), Vernon Philander (Cape Cobras), Dale Steyn (Cape Cobras), Thami Tsolekile (Highveld Lions), Lonwabo Tsotsobe (Dolphins)
The new contracts run from May 1, 2013 to April 30, 2014.
The group was approved by the CSA Board of Directors at their meeting at the weekend.
Four players - Dean Elgar of the Knights, Rory Kleinveldt of the Cape Cobras, Marchant de Lange of the Titans and Aaron Phangiso of the Highveld Lions - have been awarded contracts for the first time while Ryan McLaren of the Knights has been re-awarded a contract after missing out for the past 12 months.
Five players - Mark Boucher (retired), Ashwell Prince and Juan Theron of the Warriors, and Albie Morkel and Jacques Rudolph of the Titans - have dropped off the contracted list while Johan Botha was released from his contract at his own request after last year’s ICC World Twenty20.
“The newcomers to the list are all merited,” commented CSA selection convener Andrew Hudson.
“Dean Elgar has established himself in the Test squad while Rory Kleinveldt has done well across all three formats. Marchant de Lange was the first reserve for the Test squad until his unfortunate long-term injury and it is great to have him back operating at full pace.
“Aaron Phangiso has done really well at franchise level and has grabbed the opportunities he has had for the Proteas in the two limited overs formats.
“Ryan Mclaren has come back very strongly this season and, like Kleinveldt, has featured across the formats.
“This is a very strong group of core players which combines “youth and experience” across the three formats. There is no doubt that this group of talented cricketers will continue to successfully represent us on the international stage.
“We also have three exceptionally able leaders in Graeme Smith (Test cricket), AB de Villiers (ODI) and Faf du Plessis (T20).”
CSA contracted squad:
Graeme Smith (Cape Cobras), AB de Villiers (Titans), Hashim Amla (Dolphins), Marchant de Lange (Titans), JP Duminy (Cape Cobras), Faf du Plessis (Titans), Dean Elgar (Knights), Imran Tahir (Highveld Lions), Colin Ingram (Warriors), Jacques Kallis (Cape Cobras), Rory Kleinveldt (Cape Cobras), Ryan McLaren (Knights), Morne Morkel (Titans), Wayne Parnell (Warriors), Alviro Petersen (Highveld Lions), Robin Peterson (Cape Cobras), Aaron Phangiso (Highveld Lions), Vernon Philander (Cape Cobras), Dale Steyn (Cape Cobras), Thami Tsolekile (Highveld Lions), Lonwabo Tsotsobe (Dolphins)