Victoria have confirmed the return of former international bowler Peter Siddle as part of their squad for the 2023-24 summer, while veteran spinner Jon Holland is among five players not to have their contracts extended.
Siddle has inked a two-year deal in his return to Victoria, having spent the past three years with Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield.
The 38-year-old is one of seven new players for Chris Rogers' squad, while recent rookie-listed players Ashley Chandrasinghe, Sam Elliott, Campbell Kellaway and Fergus O'Neill have earned contract upgrades.
“To have a player of Peter Siddle's calibre and experience returning to support a young fast bowling group is exciting. He'll be a great mentor for all of them,” David Hussey, Cricket Victoria's Head of Male Cricket, said.
“Peter is a very passionate Victorian and it's fantastic that he's able to finish his career at home.
“It's really pleasing to recognise some of Premier Cricket's best performers over the past couple of seasons with contracts and upgrade four of our rookies from last year. We're focussed on continuous improvement and it's great to see those younger players starting to impact our match results positively."
Victoria have also retained Australian quartet Scott Boland, Marcus Harris, Glenn Maxwell and Todd Murphy.
Dylan Brasher, Douglas Warren and Liam Blackford have signed rookie contracts for the summer ahead, while Matt Fotia, Tom Rogers and Tom O'Donnell have secured full contracts.
Holand is joined by Brody Couch, Zak Evans, Mackenzie Harvey and Tom O'Connell in not being offered a new deal, while batting pair Jake Fraser-McGurk (South Australia) and Aaron Finch (retirement) have also departed the program.
“In any contracting process there are always difficult decisions and I'd like to thank all the players who are departing our program for their commitment to Victorian cricket.
“It would be remiss of me to not make a special mention of Jon Holland and Aaron Finch who have both made enormous contributions to our program, to our squads and to the success Victoria has enjoyed throughout their very successful careers. They both hold a special place in this era of Victorian cricket.”
Victorian Men's 2023-24 squad
Scott Boland* (Frankston Peninsula)
Ashley Chandrasinghe (Casey-South Melbourne)
Xavier Crone (Carlton)
Travis Dean (Footscray)
Sam Elliott (Fitzroy Doncaster)
Matt Fotia (Ringwood)
Peter Handscomb (St Kilda)
Sam Harper (Melbourne)
Marcus Harris* (St Kilda)
Campbell Kellaway (Melbourne)
Nic Maddinson (St Kilda)
Glenn Maxwell* (Fitzroy Doncaster)
Cameron McClure (Essendon)
Jono Merlo (St Kilda)
Todd Murphy* (St Kilda)
Tom O'Donnell (Essendon)
Fergus O'Neill (Melbourne)
Wil Parker (Richmond)
Mitch Perry (Richmond)
Will Pucovski (Melbourne)
Tom Rogers (Ringwood)
Matt Short (Northcote)
Peter Siddle (Dandenong)
Will Sutherland (Prahran)
*Denotes Cricket Australia contracted player
Rookies:
Liam Blackford (Geelong)
Dylan Brasher (Footscray)
Douglas Warren (Melbourne University)
