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Warriors wait on Hogan

Western Australia have left room in their state squad for the reliable seam bowler Michael Hogan as he ponders whether or not to return for another Sheffield Shield summer in between his commitments for Glamorgan

Michael Hogan helped guide WA to the Sheffield Shield final after a strong first season for Glamorgan  •  Getty Images

Michael Hogan helped guide WA to the Sheffield Shield final after a strong first season for Glamorgan  •  Getty Images

Western Australia have left room in their state squad for the reliable seam bowler Michael Hogan as he ponders whether or not to return for another Sheffield Shield summer in between his commitments for Glamorgan in the English County Championship.
Hogan had been thought lost to the Warriors in 2013 when he chose to use an England passport to play for Glamorgan as a local player, however a tweak of eligibility rules by Cricket Australia - designed principally in a failed attempt to lure Middlesex's Sam Robson to contend for a berth as an Australia opening batsman - allowed him to play in 2013-14.
He proceeded to pluck 36 wickets at 25.80 for WA, helping their thrust towards the Shield final, but is yet to decide on coming back for another season. Hogan is understandably rated highly by Glamorgan having harvested 67 wickets at 20.53 in the northern summer of 2013.
WA's coach Justin Langer is hopeful of retaining Hogan. "We would love to have him back next year, but we need to work closely with Glamorgan, his manager and Michael," he said when announcing WA's state squad for next summer. "If we can get him back it'd be a great bonus for everyone."
The recruitment of Michael Klinger from South Australia to cover for the retirement of Marcus North is the only major change to the WA line-up for next season, following a successful 12 months of regeneration and development in the previously moribund west.
The talented young batsman Tom Beaton has returned to the contract list after making his debut during Mickey Arthur's tenure as state coach, while the seam and swing bowler Andrew Tye has been rewarded for strong club form with his first state deal.
Burt Cockley, Luke Towers and Liam Davis have all lost their state contracts, the latter humbugged by a serious finger injury that precluded him from playing any Shield matches last summer.
"The only reason Liam's not in there is because he's had a career-threatening finger injury, because of that we weren't able to offer him a contract this year," Langer said. "He'll need to work out if his finger allows him to play cricket again. If he can get back on the park there's no reason why he can't play for Western Australia again."
Western Australia squad: Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Tom Beaton, Michael Beer, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Ryan Duffield, Marcus Harris, Mitchell Johnson (CA), Michael Klinger, Simon Mackin, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh (CA), Joel Paris, John Rogers, Nathan Rimmington, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Adam Voges, Sam Whiteman. Rookies: William Bosisto, Hilton Cartwright, Matt Dixon, David Moody, Jaron Morgan