Melbourne, May 1: Reality hit home in Australian cricket ranks on Tuesday, when Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath were missing from the list of 25 players awarded full national contracts.

Warne, the leading wicket taker in test cricket history, retired after Australia regained the Ashes from England.

McGrath finished his international career on the weekend by helping Australia win its third consecutive World Cup. He was the leading bowler in the World Cup in the Caribbean, setting records for most wickets at a single tournament and most career World Cup wickets.

Veteran batsmen Justin Langer and Damien Martyn also retired over the Australian summer, while New South Wales captain Simon Katich and former international paceman Michael Kasprowicz did not have their contracts renewed.

Of the six vacant spots filled for the 2007-08 season, most attention was on the replacement for leg-spinner Warne.

Cullen Bailey, 22, joined Dan Cullen, test veteran Stuart MacGill and World Cup star Brad Hogg among the contracted players viewed as a possible replacement for Warne.

Cameron White, an all-rounder who bowls leg-spin, was also among the six new contracted players, along with allrounder James Hopes, batsmen Chris Rogers and Adam Voges and swing bowler Ben Hilfenhaus.

Jason Gillespie, who along with Kasprowicz has been on the outer since Australia lost the Ashes series in England in 2005, had his contract renewed in is among a strong group of fast bowlers.

Australia selector Andrew Hilditch said it would be a great challenge to replace the likes of McGrath and Warne, stalwarts of the national squad for more than a dozen years.

"This list of players still represents a very experienced group but also includes some exciting young talent that will ensure our reign as champions in both test and one-day cricket can continue," Hilditch said.

"The retirement of Shane Warne is a significant issue for Australian cricket," he conceded. "While he is obviously irreplaceable, we are pleased that we have experienced spinners in Stuart MacGill and Brad Hogg, who has just finished a highly successful World Cup.

"We will also look to Cullen Bailey and Dan Cullen to continue with their exciting development and realize their potential."

Australia's fast bowling stocks are deep despite the loss of McGrath, Hilditch said. Brett Lee, who missed the World Cup with an ankle injury, is expected back over the course of 2007-08.

"As with Shane, the retirement of Glenn McGrath leaves a huge hole for Australian cricket, but the squad contains some really exciting fast-bowling talent in Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson and now the addition to the contracted list of Ben Hilfenhaus for the first time," Hilditch said. "While it is still going to be a challenging time for Australian cricket, we consider it to be a very exciting one and are really confident that the group we have picked can help us to continue our dominance of world cricket."

Contracted players: Cullen Bailey, Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark, Michael Clarke, Daniel Cullen, Adam Gilchrist, Jason Gillespie, Brad Haddin, Matthew Hayden, Ben Hilfenhaus, Brad Hodge, Brad Hogg, James Hopes, Michael Hussey, Phil Jaques, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Stuart MacGill, Ricky Ponting, Chris Rogers, Andrew Symonds, Shaun Tait, Adam Voges, Shane Watson, Cameron White.