Jason Gillespie has begun the process of revamping South Australia's squad after their winless season by cutting five players ahead of what is expected to be recruitment from other states during the winter.

Tom Cooper, Will Bosisto, Brad Davis, Conor McInerney and Luke Robins have all been dropped from the Redbacks' list which has also lost Callum Ferguson and Chadd Sayers after the pair previously announced their retirement.

Cooper, who has played international cricket for Netherlands, is the most senior figure to be let go: he has made 6533 first-class runs at 34.93 (5389 in the Sheffield Shield) and 5505 in one-day cricket.

South Australia finished bottom of the Sheffield Shield and Marsh Cup without a victory in either competition. It was only in the final Shield game, against Victoria, where they managed to bowl a side out once in a match although they were more competitive in that competition after the BBL.

This season's bottom place in the Shield made it four wooden spoons in a row. Last winter the club underwent a review led by Mike Hussey which recommended significant changes to how the game is run in the state.

Among the recommendations was for South Australia to "target the best 10th - 15th players from other states" and this could see them try to encourage fringe players from elsewhere to head to Adelaide.

"We felt that these difficult decisions had to be made with a focus on improved results going forward," Gillespie, who only joined the team after the season had begun due to quarantine, said. "This announcement will afford us the capacity to take a renewed approach to recruiting this off-season, as we hunt positive results in the coming years.

"We thank Tom, Will, Brad, Conor and Luke for their fine efforts on and off the pitch and wish them well for the future."

South Australia tried a number of young players during the season including handing debuts to left-arm wristspinner Joe Medew-Ewen and allrounder Sam Kerber in the closing stages of the Sheffield Shield while they promoted 20-year-old allrounder Liam Scott to No. 3 with an eye on the future.