There are no major surprises among the 25 players -- average age 30 -- awarded central contracts for the next year.

"There are some very experienced players amongst the group along with some younger players who have performed very well at domestic level.

"We are confident in the squad of players that we've selected," chief selector Andrew Hilditch commented.

"We have some major tournaments and series on the horizon in the Ashes and World Cup, and have selected this group of players with these campaigns in mind.

Mitchell Johnson is the only player yet to appear in Test cricket.

Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz and Damien Martyn, who were all temporarily discarded after last year's series in England, have been included.

Veteran seam bowler Glenn McGrath and spin wizard Shane Warne are the oldest players on the list at 36, while off-spinner Dan Cullen, who recently made his Test debut in Bangladesh, is the youngest at 22.

"Dan Cullen is a super talent. He's extremely aggressive for a finger spinner, he's got a serious attitude which is wonderful to see in a spinner, he likes taking wickets and that's what the game is all about.

Three players have been dropped from list announced 12 months ago -- all-rounders James Hopes and Cameron White, and seam bowler Mick Lewis.

SQUAD
Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark, Michael Clarke, Dan Cullen, Adam Gilchrist, Jason Gillespie, Brad Haddin, Matthew Hayden, Brad Hodge, Brad Hogg, Mike Hussey, Phil Jaques, Mitchell Johnson, Michael Kasprowicz, Simon Katich, Justin Langer, Brett Lee, Stuart MacGill, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds, Shaun Tait, Shane Warne, Shane Watson.