Darcie Brown earns Cricket Australia contract as Delissa Kimmince announces retirement

Fast bowler Darcie Brown has been handed her first Cricket Australia contract in the one change from last year's list replacing Delissa Kimmince who has announced her retirement.

Brown, 18, made her Australia debut in T20Is and ODIs on the recent tour of New Zealand having impressed during the WBBL and WNCL. She is capable of pushing the speed gun above 120kph and is seen as part of the long-term future of Australia's pace-bowling ranks alongside Tayla Vlaeminck.

"Darcie is an incredibly exciting fast-bowling talent, as we saw on the recent T20I and ODI tour of New Zealand, and she has consistently been the fastest bowler in the country as shown by our testing around the states," national selector and high performance manager Shawn Flegler said. "She's had tremendous raw pace throughout the junior ranks and we think she has the potential to form an excellent new ball partnership with Tayla Vlaeminck for many years to come."

Kimmince, who made her Australia debut in 2008, has called time on a career that included 16 ODI and 44 T20I appearances where she was part of the T20 World Cup-winning squads of 2014, 2018 and 2020. She has also won two WBBL titles with Brisbane Heat.

"DK should be incredibly proud of her contribution to Australian cricket," Flegler said. "She made her international debut at the very young age of 18, took a break from the game and returned to make a huge contribution at all levels.

"During that time she developed from a raw fast bowler into a genuine allrounder and has been regarded as one of the best fielders in the world. She's a been a wonderful teammate and an important member of our Ashes- and T20 World Cup-winning squads and we thank her for her outstanding service to the game."

Three players who were part of the recent New Zealand tour - Hannah Darlington, Molly Strano and Belinda Vakarewa - do not make the list.

Australia played six T20Is and six ODIs, all against New Zealand, under the previous contract period with the schedule severely impacted by Covid-19 although that was more than some teams managed. They extended their ODI-winning streak to a world-record 24 matches with a 3-0 victory in New Zealand while had a 3-2 return in T20Is.

"We're proud of the playing group for the resilience and hard work they displayed over a challenging season, which for many included multiple quarantines and hubs, as we now look ahead to a huge year of cricket," Flegler said.

"Since our loss to India in the semi-final of the 2017 World Cup, we've been focussed on winning the trophy back. The World Cup in New Zealand is therefore a big focus for the playing group, as are the home series against our great rivals England and India."

The players have now started their annual leave which runs until the end of May then a significant number of them will be travelling to England to be part of the Hundred. Next season India and England are due to tour - the latter for a multi-format Ashes series - before the World Cup in March 2022.

Central contracts Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Meg Lanning, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham