Kuhnemann is set to move to Tasmania to become their No.1 spinner in Shield and Marsh Cup cricket and will strengthen Tasmania’s attack after they fell just short of winning the Shield title. He is still contracted to play for Brisbane Heat in the BBL for the next two seasons.
Meanwhile, Burns has been left off Queensland’s contract after he was left out of both the Shield and Marsh Cup sides last summer. His Shield omission in February came as a surprise given he had performed well in the early part of the season. He made a 133 and 55 against eventual finalists Tasmania in Hobart and 91 in a nail-biting fourth innings chase against South Australia in Brisbane. He also made an unbeaten 62 not out in a draw against eventual champions Western Australia before the BBL against an attack featuring Jhye Richardson and Cameron Green.
But despite being the Bulls leading run-scorer through the first seven games and averaging a healthy 37.16 in a season dominated by the bowlers, Queensland decided to blood some young batters in the second half of the season when they fell out of Shield final contention. He spent some time away from the squad late in the season due to a family bereavement.
Queensland have opted not to offer the 34-year-old a contract. Burns has played 23 Tests for Australia and made four Test hundreds. He is also out of contract at the Melbourne Stars.
Queensland squad 2024-25: Lachlan Aitken (rookie), Xavier Bartlett (CA contract), Max Bryant, Hugo Burdon, Jack Clayton, Liam Guthrie, Lachlan Hearne, Usman Khawaja (CA), Marnus Labuschagne (CA), Angus Lovell, Ben McDermott, Michael Neser, Jimmy Pierson, Matthew Renshaw, Jem Ryan (rookie), Gurinder Sandhu, Jack Sinfield, Mark Steketee, Tom Straker (rookie), Connor Sully, Mitch Swepson, Bryce Street, Callum Vidler, Hugh Weibgen, Tom Whitney (rookie), Jack Wildermuth
Ins: Angus Lovell, Lachlan Hearne, Callum Vidler, Lachlan Aitken, Jem Ryan, Tom Straker
Outs: Joe Burns, James Bazley, Blake Edwards, Aryan Jain, Matthew Kuhnemann, Will Prestwidge