Live Update: ECB to offer central contracts to record 39 England players after Ben Stokes and Mark Wood retire The ECB is set to hand out 30 full contracts and nine development deals next week, with eight new names joining the full list for the first time.
Jordan Cox and Joe Root (Source: Gareth Copley/) The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is expected to offer central contracts to a record 39 players next week. The list will include 30 full contracts and nine development deals, the largest number the ECB has offered in a single cycle. The expansion follows the retirements of Ben Stokes and Mark Wood , which have freed up room in the contract budget, while Zak Crawley and Luke Wood are expected to lose their deals.
According to Telegrh Sport, eight new names are set to join the full central contract list. Under the ECB’s agreement with the Team England Player Partnership (TEPP), the allocated contract budget must be spent on player deals and cannot be redirected elsewhere. The retirements of Stokes and Wood have therefore created space for the board to bring in a wider group of players rather than reduce overall spending.
Which players are expected to receive full central contracts? Sussex fast bowler Henry Crocombe , who has earned a place in England’s ODI squad for the tour of Pakistan, is among the eight new names expected to join the full contract list. Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox and Dan Lawrence are also expected to receive their first central contracts.
Fast bowler Ollie Robinson is expected to return to the list after a period away, while seamers Sam Cook and Matt Fisher are in line for full deals. Ollie Pope, Shoaib Bashir and Rehan Ahmed are expected to retain their contracts. The value of each transaction varies depending on the player’s role and format.
Leading multi-format players can earn fees worth more than £1 million a year, while some members of the white-ball team’s contracts are worth around £150,000. The ECB is also likely to offer fewer multi-year contracts this time. Last year more than half of full contracts covered two years, but longer deals are now likely to be reserved for key fast bowlers and a small group of batsmen including Joe Root, Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell.
How do development contracts work and who is involved? The ECB is expected to increase its development contracts from four last year to nine this year. Under the agreement, counties continue to pay players’ base salaries while the ECB makes an additional payment, giving the national team more control over their workload and schedules.
Sussex all-rounder James Coles, Glamorgan’s Mason Crane and Nottinghamshire’s Liam Patterson-White are expected to be given development contracts. Coles and Crane are also expected to take part in England’s tour of Pakistan, while Patterson-White is being considered for a possible Test role this winter. Durham fly-half Ben McKinney and Yorkshire all-rounder Matthew Revis are also expected to be on the development list.
Somerset goalkeeper and batsman Thomas Rew could also be handed a contract despite missing the second half of the domestic season through injury. Players on development contracts are still free to pursue franchise opportunities, but the ECB is given more influence over their schedules and can prioritize Lions assignments if it feels overseas experience will better prepare a player for international duty. The England Lions program, led by head coach Jonathan Trott, will tour the Caribbean, South Africa and Sri Lanka this winter.
These tours also feature over-50 cricket, which is offered on a limited basis in the domestic system, giving aspiring players valuable experience of the conditions they may encounter at international level. Probably full list of batsmen with central ECB contracts: Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Emilio Gay, Phil Salt, Jordan Cox, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith, Ollie Pope and Tom Banton. The all-rounders: Will Jacks, Sam Curran, Rehan Ahmed, Jamie Overton and Liam Dawson.
Bowlers: Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue, Brydon Carse, Sonny Baker, Sam Cook, Matt Fisher, Matthew Potts, Henry Crocombe, Saqib Mahmood, Adil Rashid and Shoaib Bashir.
