Hobart Hurricanes regulars Ben McDermott and Nikhil Chaudhary sign full-time Tasmanian contracts
Teague Wyllie, the youngest player to score a Sheffield Shield century since Ricky Ponting, has landed a state lifeline with the Aussie great’s former team after signing with Tasmania for next season.
Wyllie, who last month lost his contract with Western Australia where he was part of their Sheffield Shield-winning sides in 2021-22 and 2022-23 as a teenager, has secured a one-year deal with Tasmania as he seeks to find a path back to consistent first-class cricket.
Tasmania men’s squad for 2026-27: Marcus Bean, Gabe Bell, Jackson Bird, Iain Carlisle, Nikhil Chaudhary, Jake Doran, Nathan Ellis (CA), Brad Hope, Caleb Jewell, Matthew Kuhnemann (CA), Raf MacMillian, Caelan Maladay, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Lawrence Neil-Smith, Mitch Owen, Will Prestwidge, Nivethan Radhakrishnan, Jordan Silk, Billy Stanlake, Tim Ward, Beau Webster (CA), Teague Wyllie. Rookies: Kasey Barton, Zac Curtain, Aidan O’Connor, Nitesh Samuel, William Taylor
Ins: Teague Wyllie, Caelan Maladay, Nikhil Chaudhary, Ben McDermott, Raf MacMillian (upgraded rookie), Kasey Barton, Nitesh Samuel, William Taylor
Outs: Jake Weatherald (SA), Kieran Elliott (WA), Mac Wright, Charlie Wakim, Nick Davis
The now 22-year-old played just two Shield matches in each of his last two seasons for WA for a top score of 22 from seven innings.
He found more success in the one-day format last summer, scoring 56 against his new state on List A debut last October, as well as 42 not out against the same opponents in February.
The right-hander averaged almost 50 for his Premier Cricket club Rockingham-Mandurah and also hit 71 and 20no in a tour match against England Lions in Perth in November.
But as his Shield runs dried up following his maiden first-class century aged 18 years and 163 days in October 2022 (104 v NSW), Wyllie found himself down the WA pecking order behind fellow young batters Cooper Connolly, Jayden Goodwin and Sam Fanning.
Wyllie joins Tasmania alongside NSW-raised fast bowler Caelan Maladay, with the 24-year-old right-armer taking 135 wickets at an average of 18.98 for his club team New Town since relocating to Hobart three seasons ago.
Maladay, a former NSW and Cricket Australia underage representative, was also part of the CA XI that beat England Lions in Perth last November, taking 3-47 in the first innings, which included the scalp of highly touted English teenager Thomas Rew.
The Tasmanian men’s squad for next season, announced on Thursday, also sees the return of Ben McDermott full-time after he featured in the state’s 50-over team last summer as an uncontracted player.
McDermott relinquished his Queensland contract in June last year to return to Hobart with his young family. Originally from Queensland, McDermott has now played 49 Shield and 37 one-day matches across two stints with the Tigers from 2014-15 to 2022-23 before rejoining the state in 2025.
Explosive allrounder Nikhil Chaudhary has also been added to Tasmania’s full-time contracted list, signing a two-year deal with the state after an impressive 2025-26 campaign in both the Sheffield Shield and One-Day Cup.
Chaudhary, who joined Hobart Hurricanes in 2023 ahead of BBL|13, hit his maiden first-class century last season (163 v NSW in November) as well as taking a five-wicket haul on Shield debut, and was the Tigers equal leading wicket-taker in the 50-over competition, which saw him named as a finalist for the 2025-26 Ricky Ponting Medal.
Australia Under-19 representatives Kasey Barton, William Taylor and Nitesh Samuel have been lured from NSW and will join Tasmania on rookie contracts next season, while Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann and Beau Webster have retained their national contracts.
Opening batter Samuel was Australia’s leading run-scorer at the U19 World Cup earlier this year, hitting three half-centuries to finish the tournament with 275 runs at an impressive average of 92.
“It’s exciting to see some fresh faces and new energy coming into the playing group this season,” Salliann Beams, Cricket Tasmania’s high performance manager, said today.
“With Taylor and Barton, we’re strengthening our pace bowling stocks, and we’re looking forward to building healthy competition between the top order batters with the exciting addition of Samuel.”
Meanwhile, as announced last month, Test opener Jake Weatherald returns to South Australia after three seasons with Tasmania, while batters Charlie Wakim and Mac Wright’s state contracts weren’t renewed, with the latter moving to Melbourne to join Premier Cricket club Carlton next summer.
