Live Update: Uncped Crocombe wins two-year contract as ECB confirms central contracts. Recruited from the largest group of England men’s players on a central contract. The three that matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, all smiling after dismissing Pat Cummins. The three that matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, all smiles after dismissing Pat Cummins, India vs Australia, World Cup, Chennai, October 8, 2023 A Champion’s Smile – Mohammed Siraj picked up five wickets in a ten-ball game, India vs Sri Lanka, Asia Cup Final, Colombo, September 17, 2023 Alyssa Healy poses with the Trophy after Australia retained the Ashes, England vs Australia, 3rd ODI, Women’s Ashes, Taunton, July 18, 2023 A general view of the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, 3 match, Jaipur, October 17, 2006 A general view of the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, Punjab Kings vs. Delhi Citals, IPL 2024, Mullanpur, March 23, 2024 Haryana Cricket Association Bansi Lal Stadium in Lahli, Haryana vs. Rajasthan, 1st Semi-Final, Ranji Trophy 2011-12, Rohtak, Day 1, January 10, 2012 Shane Warne bowls the first Test match ball under lights.
Australia v New Zealand, 2nd Test, Day 1, at the WACA, Perth, Thursday 20 November 1997 Nic Maddinson recovered from a terrible first innings to score in his first Tests since December 2016, South Africa v Australia, 1st Test, Durban, Day 3, 11 October 2026. His four catches, including two superb slip attempts, helped the visitors to a lead of 106 Runs to Durban. Sweep as Steven Smith slips, South Africa v Australia, 1st Test, Day 3, Durban, October 11, 2026 Aiden Markram fell against the run of play, South Africa v Australia, 1st Test, Day 3, Durban, October 11, 2026 Around 45 overs were lost in three days of play, which must be taken into account in the teams’ calculations. Poor light stopped play early, under gray skies, South Africa vs Australia, 1st Test, Day 1, Durban, October 9, 2026 Chasing their 43rd Ranji Trophy title, Mumbai have a new clan hungry for success after re-establishing themselves in the line-up. Siddhesh Lad celebrates his century, Mumbai vs Puducherry, Ranji Trophy, Day 2, Mumbai, November 18, 2025. Kotian worked with Sunil Joshi and Jatin Paranje to sharpen his weon ahead of the new season. Tanush Kotian Bowls, India A vs South Africa A, 1st Unofficial Test, Day 1, CoE 1, October 30, 2025. India’s biggest players will be in action in the first round as will those on the sidelines will be keen to make their case. KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal are off to a watchful start, India vs West Indies, 2nd Test, Delhi, Day 1, October 10, 2025. The Gujarat bowler is looking to play his first full red-ball domestic season since 2020 and impart lessons learned from his “15-16 years of trial and error” to the youngsters in the team. Harshal Patel successfully wrestles for an LBW, India vs South Africa, 1st T20I, Thiruvananthuram, September 28, 2022. He started slowly and showed Roston Chase the respect the bowler deserved, but Abhishek Sharma still reached his fifty in just 18 balls, thwarting the West Indies’ well-laid plans. Abhishek Sharma scored powerfully offside, India v West Indies, 3rd T20I, Indore, October 11, 2026. On an Indore pitch whose low bounce made big shots difficult, Abhishek Sharma’s 30 balls in the end gave India an above-average score. Arshdeep Singh celebrates after bowling Sherfane Rutherford, India v West Indies, 3rd T20I, Indore, October 11, 2026 Litton Das batted aggressively, Afghanistan v Bangladesh, Test only, Abu Dhabi, Day 4, October 12, 2026 Hasan Mahmud has now taken five wickets in four different countries and has gone where few bowlers – and not just from Bangladesh – have gone. Hasan Mahmud destroyed Afghanistan’s tail, Afghanistan vs Bangladesh, only Test, Abu Dhabi, Day 3, October 11, 2026 Maaz Sadaqat hits a fine half-century, Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, 2nd T20I, Rawalpindi, October 11, 2026 Murphy says one of the highlights was “the speed of the ball from the quicks and how exciting they were and how threatening they looked” Nathan McSweeney raises his bat after taking a Century, India A vs Australia A, 1st one day, Puducherry, October 6, 2026 His four catches, including two excellent slip attempts, helped the visitors to a 106-run lead in Durban. Failing to reverse the sweep when Steven Smith was at slip, South Africa v Australia, 1st Test, Day 3, Durban, October 11, 2026. On an Indore pitch whose low bounce made the big shot difficult, Abhishek Sharma’s 30-ball 69 gave India an above-par total in the end. Arshdeep Singh celebrates after bowling Sherfane Rutherford, India vs West Indies, 3rd T20I, Indore, October 11, 2026 Aiden Markram fell against the run of play, South Africa vs Australia, 1st Test, Day 3, Durban, October 11, 2026 Hasan Mahmud has now taken five wicket hauls in four different countries, wherever Few bowlers – not just Bangladesh – have gone gone. Hasan Mahmud destroyed Afghanistan’s back, Afghanistan v Bangladesh, only Test, Abu Dhabi, Day 3, October 11, 2026. England have agreed an unprecedented two-year deal with uncaught seamer Henry Crocombe, adding seven new players to their full contract list. The ECB announced its largest pool of centrally contracted players on Monday, with only two players losing full contracts for performance reasons. The international retirement of two senior staff, Ben Stokes and Mark Wood, has allowed the ECB to offer 39 contracts – 30 full contracts and nine development contracts – for the 2026-27 cycle, compared to 30 in the 2025-26 period.
Only two other players who were on full-time contracts last year have completely dispeared from the list: former Test opener Zak Crawley and left-hander Luke Wood. Crocombe and Jordan Cox have both signed new two-year deals, while six other players whose contracts expired last year – Tom Banton, Sam Cook, Emilio Gay, Matthew Fisher, Dan Lawrence and Ollie Robinson – have signed one-year deals after impressing the England management this summer. Most of Crocombe’s success so far has come from red-ball cricket and he has taken 40 wickets at 23.52 in County Championship Division One this season – including two hat-tricks.
However, at the Toyota PCA Awards this month he explained his bigger ambitions, saying: “I really want to develop my white-ball game so I can be available for England in all formats.” Rob Key, England’s chief executive, is pushing for a move to multi-year central contracts in 2023 to head off the threat of players turning down international assignments to play franchise cricket all year round. “The advantages of these contracts far outweigh the disadvantages,” he stressed on Monday, defending his decision to offer two-year contracts to certain unconfirmed players. Key said the contract structure allowed England to make “longer-term bets” on certain players, adding that it would allow the ECB to manage “the next two years” for them.
He also said the change in the contract system had helped England avoid losing any players in the last three years. “I think we could have done it without it, but that’s my opinion,” he said. Nine players who were under contract last year have signed contract extensions, meaning their contracts will now expire in September 2028.
They are: Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Joe Root and Josh Tongue. Five others – Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Adil Rashid and Jamie Smith – are entering the second year of their existing two-year contracts. These will run at England’s home ground until the end of summer 2027 and include a home Ashes series, a one-off Test against Bangladesh and a white-ball series against Pakistan and New Zealand.
Key said ECB management “debated and considered long and hard” whether to offer longer contracts to some players and concluded that one-year deals would “bring out the best in Duckett, Smith and Robinson.” He added that Buttler and Rashid remained “desperate” to play for England despite their contracts expiring just before next year’s World Cup. The ECB’s agreement with the Team England Player Partnership means there is a fixed amount available each year for central contracts, which must be spent in full.
“You try to find a way to pay for each player’s value,” Key said. “Losing a few big players frees up more money that can be used in other ways.” Eight players also received development contracts, in which the ECB covers half of a player’s current salary and grants a 25% increase. They are: James Coles, Mason Crane, Josh Hull, Eddie Jack, Ben McKinney, Liam Patterson-White, Thomas Rew, Matthew Revis and Mitchell Stanley.
The English management intends to use these deals to strengthen the Lions program as they will encourage the ECB to remove players on development contracts from county or franchise cricket leagues. “It was great to see these players commit to these contracts knowing that if we select them in Lions cricket we expect them to play there,” Key said. The England white-ball team will fly to Pakistan on Thursday for their next ODI tri-series, which also includes Sri Lanka, before their opening match next Tuesday.
After the series, they will travel to Australia for three ODIs and five T20Is in November, with the ECB expected to announce a squad for that tour on Tuesday. Two-year contracts: Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Jacob Bethell, Jordan Cox, Henry Crocombe, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Joe Root, Josh Tongue (until September 30, 2028) One-year contracts: Rehan Ahmed, Tom Banton, Shoaib Bashir, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Matthew Fisher, Emilio Gay, Dan Lawrence, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Ollie Robinson, Phil Salt, Jamie Smith (until September 30, 2027) Development contracts: James Coles, Mason Crane, Josh Hull, Eddie Jack, Ben McKinney, Liam Patterson-White, Thomas Rew, Matthew Revis, Mitchell Stanley (until September 30, 2027) No longer under contract: Zak Crawley, Tom Lawes (development), Ben Stokes (retired), Luke Wood, Mark Wood (retired). Henry Crocombe was part of the England Test squad in June. • Gareth Copley/Cox, Banton and Baker citalize on their opportunities as England expand their ODI presence. Buttler from Pakistan tour and doubts for Australia after hamstring injury. Baker is preparing to retire after a quick summer. Matt Roller is a senior correspondent for .
