Legspinner Alana King has been rewarded for her breakout start to the year by earning a debut Cricket Australia contract. The 26-year-old is one of 15 players from Australia’s all-conquering women’s pool to be given a national contract for 2022-23.

King‘s elevation was almost a certainty after having an impact across all three formats since making her international debut in the Ashes against England in January and achieving the remarkable feat of earning her first cap in all three formats of international cricket in the space of just fourteen days.

The daughter of Indian nationals who emigrated from Chennai to Melbourne, King made her Twenty20 International debut on 20 January 2022, for Australia against England. One week later she made her Test debut on 27 January in the one-off Women’s Ashes Test. A One Day International debut came a week later on 3 February 2022 in the Women’s Ashes.

A big year was capped off by a big week for King, who on Tuesday also celebrated her first contract for The Hundred where she will play for the Trent Rockets.

“Alana King came into the side during the Ashes and hasn’t missed a beat, she produced match-winning performances across all three formats and thoroughly deserves her spot on the list,” National selector Shawn Flegler said.

“After the loss of Georgia Wareham to injury, we were in a fortunate position to be able to replace her with another outstanding leg spinner in Alana. It’s a real credit to Alana and the Australian cricket system to have someone of her calibre waiting in the wings ready to go.”

Australia were unbeaten during the Ashes, before being undefeated in New Zealand on their way to a seventh World Cup title. Flegler admitted there had been some tough decisions after another widely-successful year.

“We’ve had a core group of players performing well over the last 12 months which means some talented players have missed out, it’s certainly made selection tough but we’re in a fortunate position to have such depth across Australian Cricket.”

Victorian allrounder Sophie Molineux is the highest-profile unlucky casualty, dropping off the contract list after a foot injury ruled her out of the unbeaten ODI World Cup campaign. However, fellow young injury-plagued stars, Georgia Wareham and Tayla Vlaeminck, have managed to retain their places.

“Sophie Molineux is unfortunate to miss out on a contract,” admitted Flegler. “She’s been an important part of the side over the last couple of years. Unfortunately, she’s missed a large amount of cricket due to various injuries, but we feel she can continue to play an important role.”

Some consolation came for the 24-year-old Molineux this week when she was bought by the Birmingham Phoenix for the 2022 season of The Hundred in England.

Players not awarded contracts as part of the initial squad of 15 can still earn upgrades throughout the year by accruing 12 upgrade points. Female players receive four points for a Test match, two for a One-Day International and two for a T20 International.

“Players such as Stella Campbell, Amanda-Jade Wellington and Grace Harris have all played for Australia and contributed to the team’s success recently, and along with Sophie, have the chance to earn upgrades with consistent performances,” Flegler said.

“It’s been an incredibly successful 12 months for the Australian Women’s Team and it was fitting that the side capped it off by claiming the ICC Women’s World Cup on Sunday. Our attention now turns to the next 12 months, headlined by the Commonwealth Games and the 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

CRICKET AUSTRALIA WOMEN’S CONTRACT LIST: Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Jessica Jonassen, Alana King, Meg Lanning, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham.