Dooley cut by Tasmania following recruitment of Kuhnemann and MacMillan

Paddy Dooley has been left off Tasmania's contract list after the Tigers went on a spin-recruitment drive to land Test spinner Matthew Kuhnemann and Australia Under-19 World Cup winning offspinner Raf MacMillan.

Dooley was recruited from Queensland for the 2023-24 season after joining Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL and played seven of Tasmania's eight Marsh Cup games last summer. He picked up nine wickets, including scalps in six of the seven he played, at an economy rate of 5.82. But the recruitment of fellow left-arm orthodox Kuhnemann, who has played Test and ODI cricket for Australia, has meant that there was no room on Tasmania's contract list for Dooley. He joins retired duo Matthew Wade and Sam Rainbird as the only omissions from the contract list.

Tasmania have also signed MacMillan from New South Wales after his outstanding performances in the Under-19 World Cup. The 19-year-old took wickets in every game as Australia won the title. He took 3 for 16 and smashed 19 not out off 12 balls against England. He took 1 for 29 from 10 and made 19 not out in a 17-run 10th wicket stand to win a nail-biting semi-final against Pakistan. He then took 3 for 43 in the final against India.

Tasmania have also signed young fast bowler Will Prestwidge from Queensland. The 22-year-old made 37 and took 1 for 49 on List A debut for Queensland late last season.

Tasmania coach Jeff Vaughan was pleased with the new recruits as they look to go one step further in the Sheffield Shield next year after losing the final to Western Australia.

"I am very happy with the quality of the players on our list, on and off the field," Vaughan said. "We took a massive step forward as a program last year with some big changes to our squad, and we rewarded players who stepped up for us and showed us what it means to play cricket for Tasmania.

"While we did see some success on the field, there are still many facets of the game that we can look to improve upon, and we are confident the quality of players we are bringing into our squad will help us go to the next level as we look to bring more success to Tasmania."

Tasmania contract list 2024-25: Gabe Bell, Iain Carlisle, Nick Davis (rookie), Jake Doran, Kieran Elliot, Jarrod Freeman, Bradley Hope, Caleb Jewell, Matt Kuhnemann, Raf MacMillan (rookie), Riley Meredith, Lawrence Neil-Smith, Aidan O'Connor (rookie), Mitch Owen, Will Prestwidge, Nivethan Radhakrishnan (rookie), Jordan Silk, Billy Stanlake, Charlie Wakim, Tim Ward, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster, Macalister Wright