SA talent earn extensions as Redbacks land Fraser-McGurk

South Australia have opted for stability after showing distinct improvement last summer, adding just two new names for the coming season but locking in a host of players who were instrumental in their climb up the ladder in the men's domestic competitions.

After a couple of years of active recruiting from interstate, the only inclusions to the Redbacks 22-man squad for 2023-24 are promising young Victoria batter Jake Fraser-McGurk and local product Kelvin Smith who last held a state deal five years ago.

However, the headline element of today's announcement is the new multi-year contract extensions signed by batters Nathan McSweeney, Daniel Drew and Jake Lehmann, spinners Ben Manenti and Lloyd Pope, allrounder Liam Scott, wicketkeeper Harry Nielsen and seamer Wes Agar.

Kyle Brazell, Aidan Cahill, Isaac Higgins and Harry Matthias have also retained their rookie contracts for the coming summer.

With fast bowlers Jordan Buckingham and Spencer Johnson already agreeing to three-year extensions on their existing deals, SA approaches the coming summer with a solid group of core players minus Jake Weatherald and de-listed trio Nick Winter, Bailey Capel and Ryan King.

It also suggests Smith will be the preferred option to fill the opening vacancy created by Weatherald's decision to quit SA in search of new opportunities in Tasmania as coach Jason Gillespie searches for top-order batting solidity to match his multi-pronged pace attack.

Smith, who was named player of the series at the national under-19 championship in 2011-12 and made his first-class debut for the Redbacks two years later, was initially signed to a full SA contract in 2014 on the back of three Shield appearances the previous summer.

But the left-hander, a member of Australia's 2014 under-19 World Cup squad, played just 20 Shield matches across six seasons (scoring 747 runs at 20.19 with a best of 75) before losing his contract in 2019.

He then moved to Western Australia and played two years with Premier Cricket club Wanneroo as well as earning selection for WA's second XI before returning to SA in 2021.

On the strength of his run-scoring feats in Adelaide Premier Cricket, Smith was called up to the Redbacks squad for last season's Marsh One-Day Cup final in Perth and was a last-minute addition to the starting XI when fellow left-hander Jake Carder injured a hamstring in the pre-game warm-up.

Smith then returned for his first Shield appearance in four years when chosen for SA's last Shield game of the season against NSW at Karen Rolton Oval, where he opened alongside Henry Hunt and posted scores of 46 and 0.

Having finished bottom of the Shield ladder for five consecutive seasons and near the foot of the domestic one-day competition from 2020-22, the Redbacks rebounded last year to reach the final of the Marsh Cup and fourth on the Shield table.

But only once in the course of their Shield campaign did they post a score above 350, and Drew (656 runs at 45.61) was the only SA batter in the competition's top 10 scorers for 2022-23.

"Our squad has seen significant change in recent years, and we are confident that the Redbacks are in a position to expand on the results we saw last summer," SA's high performance boss Tim Nielsen said today.

"To have the likes of Nathan McSweeney, Spencer Johnson and Jordan Buckingham agreeing to long-term contracts, key players committing to the journey and fresh talent such as Fraser-McGurk wanting to play for our state, it is clear we are heading where we want to go, which is long-term success.

"Add to this the recruitment of (former Test quick) Ryan Harris to our coaching panel and I believe we have a fantastic opportunity to do something special for South Australia in the coming seasons."

Fraser-McGurk made eight first-class appearances for Victoria after making his debut as a 17-year-old in 2019-20, the most recent being the last round of the 2021-22 Shield season against Western Australia in Perth.

He also played four Marsh Cup games at the start of the recently completed season, but has become best known for his catching prowess for Melbourne Renegades in the KFC BBL with memorable grabs against Adelaide Strikers and Hobart Hurricanes in recent years.

The now 21-year-old will be seeking a more productive summer with the bat than he enjoyed in the previous Victoria Premier Cricket season, where his 10 innings for Richmond yielded a solitary half-century with his 202 runs coming at an average of 25.25.

In addition to Test regulars Travis Head and Alex Carey (on Cricket Australia contracts), SA also saw a number of players earn selection for representative teams over the past year in further evidence of the group's evolution.

Hunt and bowling allrounder Nathan McAndrew were part of the Australia A squad that toured Sri Lanka last June, while Agar, McSweeney, Johnson and Buckingham were members of the A-team that played two first-class matches at New Zealand last month.

South Australia Redbacks 2023-24 squad: Wes Agar, Jordan Buckingham, Jake Carder, Alex Carey*, Harry Conway, Brendan Doggett, Daniel Drew, Jake Fraser-McGurk, David Grant, Travis Head*, Henry Hunt, Spencer Johnson, Thomas Kelly, Jake Lehmann, Nathan McAndrew, Nathan McSweeney, Ben Manenti, Harry Nielsen, Lloyd Pope, Liam Scott, Henry Thornton, Kelvin Smith. Rookies: Kyle Brazell, Aidan Cahill, Isaac Higgins, Harry Matthias

* Cricket Australia contract

Ins: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Kelvin Smith. Outs: Jake Weatherald, Bailey Capel, Ryan King, Nick Winter