McDermott released by Queensland for Tasmania return

Ben McDermott has been released from his Queensland contract, citing personal reasons, and is returning to Tasmania where he will seek to continue his domestic cricket with the Tigers.

The former Australia T20 and ODI representative was in the final season of a three-year deal with his home state of Queensland, but is instead heading back to Tasmania where he has played the bulk of his career.

McDermott, 30, made his Sheffield Shield and One-Day Cup debuts with Queensland as a teenager before being delisted and moving to Tasmania on a rookie deal in 2015.

There, he flourished to establish a reputation as a prolific top-order batter, culminating in his 30 appearances for Australia in the white-ball formats between 2018-23.

"It was an incredibly tough decision to make, and not one I envisaged would be on the cards when we returned in 2023," McDermott said today.

"On behalf of (wife) Mandy and our kids, we'd like to thank everyone at Queensland Cricket for their backing and generous support. I'm very grateful to the Bulls players, coaches and support staff for making the past two seasons both personally rewarding and very enjoyable."

Queensland Cricket chief executive Terry Svenson said the Bulls were sad to farewell the home-grown player for the second time in his career.

"Ben was very upfront and genuine with us, as he has been throughout his career," Svenson said.

"While not the outcome we were hoping for, he and his family come first and we respect and understand his reasons for doing so. We told him that he will always be welcome in Queensland and certainly wish him every success in the future."

McDermott will not be contracted with Tasmania for this season, with the states having already finalised their lists, although this move leaves Queensland with a vacancy to fill. Bryce Street and Connor Sully were the players delisted by the Bulls for this season.

The son of Australia fast bowling legend Craig McDermott, Ben has a long-term deal with the Hobart Hurricanes, signing an extension in January for the next three seasons, having joined the club ahead of BBL|06 in 2016-17.

McDermott opted to extend his stay with the Hurricanes after moving back to Queensland for domestic cricket in mid-2023, saying at the time: "Ultimately, family comes before everything, which I know everyone down in Tassie was really understanding and supportive of, but it was a really hard decision given how long I was down there, how much I grew as a cricketer during my time in that program, and the fact that a lot of the guys I played with for all of those years are some of my best mates."

McDermott played 17 first-class and 16 one-day games for the Bulls across his two seasons back with the state, scoring 950 first-class runs and 475 one-day runs in that period. He won the state's Ian Healy Trophy as the Bulls' player of the year for the 2023-24 season. 

McDermott is the second player to have returned to Tasmania for family reasons this off-season, with Jackson Bird also heading back to the Apple Isle after spending two seasons with NSW.