Kuhnemann's resilience lauded as he rises to Australia's No. 2

The start of 2025 is a period in Matt Kuhnemann's career that he will never forget. From fears a broken thumb would scupper his chances of a Test recall, he then bowled Australia to victory in Sri Lanka only to be faced with his action being reported.

But he came through the ICC process with flying colours, finished the season with a five-wicket haul and has now earned a maiden central contract which cements him as Australia's No. 2 red-ball spinner behind Nathan Lyon.

Kuhnemann took 16 wickets in the two Tests against Sri Lanka taking his overall tally to 25 in five matches at 22.20.

He will be part of the Test tour of West Indies in June and is a strong chance of featuring with Lyon in at least some of those matches in Barbados, Grenada and Jamaica depending on the surfaces.

"He's shown an incredible amount of resilience," chair of selectors George Bailey said. "Performing as well as he did in Sri Lanka and then having the scrutiny around his action, and having to go through that process, to bouncing back and finishing the year really well with Tassie.

"Looking at what's coming up, we don't have any subcontinent tours but we think his skill set could be useful in the West Indies. Someone who's not had a whole heap of international exposure, we've been really pleased with the way he's performed when he's got his opportunities."

Lyon, who towards the end of the Sri Lanka series termed Kuhnemann the team's best bowler, recalled being heartbroken as he sat next to him on the flight home after the news of his action had emerged.

"I'm happy it's all cleared, it's all done and doesn't need to be spoken about any more," Lyon said earlier in the week. "He hasn't done anything wrong. I thought he's been absolutely exceptional, especially the way he went out there and really bowled us to victory.

"I was pretty heartbroken in a sense. I actually flew home with him. He was pretty gutted when he was talking to me about what he had to do and he was pretty nervous. For him to have his name cleared, I could be nothing but proud for Matt and the way he's gone about it."

After West Indies, Kuhnemann's international opportunities are likely to be limited but he shapes as a crucial figure for the 2027 Border-Gavaskar series in India - it was on the corresponding tour in 2023 where he made his Test debut and bagged 5 for 16 in his second Test at Indore.

However, he is also a potentially intriguing option for next year's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka should Australia want a specialist left-arm spinner. "I think he can play other formats," Bailey said. "The contract side of things is probably a lens to where he sits in our eyes at the moment, in the red-ball space he's done incredibly well."

Australia are unlikely to consider two spinners for a home Test, but even if Lyon was injured during next summer's Ashes Kuhnemann may not necessarily be next in line in those conditions. The selectors could consider an offspinner, either Todd Murphy, who was dropped off the contract list, or Western Australia's Corey Rocchiccioli, who might be a better fit on bouncier surfaces.

Rocchiccioli finished the Sheffield Shield season strongly with a career-best seven-wicket haul at the Gabba and eight wickets in the final game against Victoria at the WACA.

All three spinners - Kuhnemann, Murphy and Rocchiccioli - will likely get the chance to tour India later this year with Australia A understood to have a series lined up that will include a pair of four-day matches against India A.