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Injury-plagued spinner Sophie Molineux's international comeback goes on, with the 26-year-old handed a new central contract from Cricket Australia.
Sophie Molineux's international comeback has continued after the injury-plagued spinner was offered a central contract from Cricket Australia for next summer.
Molineux is the only player on the list who was not contracted last summer, with retired former captain Meg Lanning the only one to drop off.
Spinner Jess Jonassen has retained a contract despite falling out of favour at the selection table in recent months, most recently missing the white-ball tour of Bangladesh.
Molineux's new deal comes after she was named player of the series in the Twenty20 leg of the Bangladesh tour, notably snaring 3-10 in last week's decisive second match.
The 26-year-old earned an upgrade to the contract list during the tour and is one of 17 players locked in for 2024-25.
"We're really pleased to be able to offer Soph a contract after her successful return to the side this summer," chief selector Shawn Flegler said.
"She's shown a great deal of resilience to get back to full fitness and she'll play an important role next summer."
Molineux made her comeback from more than two years out of the international set-up when she was selected for the Test match against South Africa in February.
She had missed Australia's home Ashes and one-day World Cup triumphs in 2022 through a foot fracture, before rupturing her left anterior cruciate ligament playing for the Melbourne Renegades in the Women's Big Bash League that November.
Molineux lost her contract in 2022 amid her injury struggles.
She played five of a possible six matches on the multi-format tour of Bangladesh that concluded last week, cementing her place in the set-up ahead of the T20 World Cup there this year.
Players outside the contracted list can still be selected for international fixtures and can earn an upgrade by accruing points following repeated selections.
CA has the capacity to offer one more contract ahead of a bumper summer that will include one white-ball series against India, two against New Zealand and a home multi-format Ashes.
CRICKET AUSTRALIA 2024-25 CONTRACTED WOMEN'S PLAYERS:
Darcie Brown, Ash Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham.
