Jason Sangha and Mackenzie Harvey signed with South Australia.

Sangha, 24, moved from New South Wales after his career stalled last season, when he played only five Sheffield Shield matches and five Marsh Cup games. He did not play any games for NSW in the second half of the season after the BBL. He averaged 19.12 in eight Shield innings last year, including one half-century, and has not scored a Shield century since striking 142 against South Australia in Adelaide in March 2022, when he was stand-in NSW captain. He has three century and an average of 26.95 in 64 innings during his Shield career.

Sangha is also expected to join the Adelaide Strikers in the BBL after playing only two games for Sydney Thunder last year, where he previously served as captain.

Harvey, 23, was not signed last summer after losing his contract with Victoria at the end of the previous season. The left-hander has not played any Shield cricket since 2022, when he completed his 13 Marsh Cup appearances. However, he is coming off his best season in grade cricket, having begun the season playing in Queensland’s Premier Cricket competition, scoring three centuries for Sunshine Coast before returning to Victoria to help his Victoria Premier team Carlton win the first-grade premiership, scoring 140 in the semi-final.

South Australia is going through a huge change time, both on and off the field, with coach Jason Gillespie and High-Performance Manager Tim Nielsen both leaving recently. Former Australia fast Ryan Harris has taken over as interim head coach, and he says Sangha and Harvey were brought in to give depth to the state’s weak batting capabilities.

“After the 2023/24 season, we identified the need to improve our batting stocks and we have done just that with the recruitment of Jason and Mackenzie,” Harris said.

“Only in their early 20s, both players bring a lot of potential and upside to the list and we are excited to see what they can do.

“We look forward to welcoming Jason and Mackenzie to South Australia later this year.”

South Australia has also appointed Nathan McSweeney as their new men’s captain following a spectacular season. McSweeney has long been seen as a promising leader by Australian selectors, having captained Australia A and the Prime Minister’s XI.

In other news, Tasmania has re-signed batter Charlie Wakim on a two-year contract following an outstanding Shield season, and he has also been named to the Hobart Hurricanes BBL squad on a one-year contract after appearing in one game for the Brisbane Heat last season.