Queensland sign another McDermott

Queensland have signed another member of the McDermott family with teenage batsman Ben McDermott joining the state on a rookie deal for next summer. The brother of Queensland-contracted fast bowler Alister and son of former Test bowler Craig, the 18-year-old McDermott recently toured New Zealand with the Australia Under-19s and played as both a wicketkeeper and as a specialist batsman.

Opening batsmen Greg Moller and Alex Kemp were also added to the contract list, while Andrew Robinson, Wade Townsend and rookie batsman Corey Barsby were left out. Queensland had a successful 2012-13, winning the Ryobi Cup and finishing as runners-up in the Sheffield Shield, while the Brisbane Heat took out the BBL title. But coach Darren Lehmann said there remained plenty to work on.

"We had a pretty good summer but in our post-season reviews, the players all identified areas where we needed to be better," Lehmann said. "It's going to be a big year for Australian cricket and we believe there are big opportunities to be had for our group if we can improve our skills and consistency across the board.

"We had a lot of fun last season but now we know it is time to start again, put in the hard work, and look forward to enjoying our cricket when the season comes around."

Queensland squad Cameron Boyce, Joe Burns, Ben Cutting, Luke Feldman, Jason Floros, Peter Forrest, Matthew Gale, Cameron Gannon, Ryan Harris (Cricket Australia contract), Chris Hartley, Nathan Hauritz, James Hopes, Alex Kemp, Usman Khawaja, Chris Lynn, Alister McDermott, Greg Moller, Michael Neser, Luke Pomersbach, Nathan Reardon. Rookies Nicholas Buchanan, Ben McDermott, Ronan McDonald, James Peirson, Nicholas Stevens.