Western Australia have handed a rookie contract to emerging batsman Jayden Goodwin, the son of former Zimbabwe and WA batsman Murray Goodwin, despite the 17-year-old not having played any grade cricket in Perth.
Jayden represented WA in the Futures League and Under-17s last season, and also played for the Cricket Australia Under-17 XI in the Australian Under-19s championships. Jayden lives in Bunbury, three hours south of Perth, and is yet to play grade cricket in Perth, which has been the more traditional pathway into the state squad.
Murray had an outstanding career for the Warriors and was a key part of their success in the late 1990s before he played international cricket for Zimbabwe. Like his father, Jayden also bowls a little bit of legspin. The father-son duo even played together in the Premiership for Colts Cricket Club in Bunbury last season with Jayden opening the batting and Murray coming in at No. 4.
Jayden is one of three new faces added to a largely settled squad. WA have also contracted 18-year-old New South Wales batsman Sam Fanning, who made a century for Australian Under-19s against Sri Lanka in January. Bradley Hope has also been handed a rookie contract after making his Sheffield Shield debut following a dominant grade season with Claremont-Nedlands.
Aaron Hardie, who rose to prominence when he dismissed Virat Kohli in a tour game last season, was upgraded to a full contract after making his Sheffield Shield debut last summer.
Former Australia Under-19 captain Will Bosisto has been cut from the Warriors squad despite scoring a Shield century last summer. Veteran batsman Jonathan Wells and allrounders Clint Hinchcliffe and Tim David have also missed out on new deals. Young fast bowler Alex Bevilacqua, meanwhile, has moved to Tasmania.
Western Australia's Men's 2019-20 squad: Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Jake Carder, Hilton Cartwright, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Cameron Green, Liam Guthrie, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kelly, Simon Mackin, Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, David Moody, Joel Paris, Josh Philippe, Jhye Richardson, D'Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Sam Whiteman
Rookies Sam Fanning, Jayden Goodwin, Bradley Hope, Lance Morris, Matthew Spoors