The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced the updated Central Contract list for England Men’s international cricket, with Ben Stokes, Mark Wood, Matthew Potts and Brydon Carse all included.
A total of 29 players have England Men Central Contracts – seven England Two-Year Central Contracts, 19 England Annual Central Contracts, and three England Development Contracts.
England Men’s captains Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler have both signed extensions and are now contracted on two-year deals. Test captain Stokes was previously on a one-year contract and white-ball captain Buttler was on a two-year contract.
Five players have signed England Central Contracts for the first time under new multi-year system that was introduced last year. Jamie Smith (Surrey) has signed a two-year contract while Will Jacks (Surrey), Shoaib Bashir (Somerset), Phil Salt (Lancashire) and Olly Stone (Nottinghamshire) have signed one-year contracts.
Jacob Bethell (Warwickshire) and Josh Hull (Leicestershire) have agreed England Development Contracts for the first time to join John Turner (Hampshire).
A further three players who were already contracted have also renewed with Gus Atkinson (Surrey) signing a two-year contract while Jack Leach (Somerset) and Reece Topley (Surrey) have agreed a further one-year contract each.
The system, which covers both red-ball and white-ball players, considers the likelihood of players featuring in England teams across formats over the next period while recognising performances in the preceding year.
Managing Director of England Men’s Cricket, Rob Key, said: “The strength and depth of talent across England Men’s red and white-ball cricket is clear in the quality of players who are centrally contracted.
“These contracts reward the players we believe will play an important role for our England Men’s teams. Both our captains, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, have signed two-year central contracts that showcase the commitment of all the players to prioritise playing for their country.
“I want to congratulate all the players who have signed new central contracts ahead of what is set to be an exciting period for England Men’s cricket.”
England Two-Year Central Contracts: Gus Atkinson (Surrey), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jamie Smith (Surrey)*, Ben Stokes (Durham), Mark Wood (Durham), England One-Year Central Contracts, Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire) Shoaib Bashir (Somerset)* ,Brydon Carse (Durham), Zak Crawley (Kent), Sam Curran (Surrey) ,Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Will Jacks (Surrey)*, Jack Leach (Somerset), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Matthew Potts (Durham), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Phil Salt (Lancashire)*, Olly Stone (Nottinghamshire)*, Josh Tongue (Nottinghamshire), Reece Topley (Surrey) ,Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)
England Development contracts: Jacob Bethell (Warwickshire)*, Josh Hull (Leicestershire)*, John Turner (Hampshire)