Six new players rewarded with ECB central contracts: Details here
What's the story
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced its updated Central contract list for men's international cricket. The new contract structure features a total of 30 players, including 14 two-year contracts, 12 annual contracts, and four development contracts. Among these players, six are first-time recipients - Sonny Baker, Jacob Bethell, Liam Dawson, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton, and Luke Wood.
Multi-year
Players with two-year ECB central contracts
Players with two-year central contracts (September 30, 2027): Jofra Archer (Sussex), Gus Atkinson (Surrey), Jacob Bethell (Warwickshire), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Brydon Carse (Durham), Sam Curran (Surrey), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Will Jacks (Surrey), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jamie Smith (Surrey), Ben Stokes (Durham), and Josh Tongue (Nottinghamshire)
Annual
Players with annual ECB central contracts (2025/26)
Players with annual central contracts (September 30, 2026): Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire), Sonny Baker (Hampshire), Shoaib Bashir (Somerset), Zak Crawley (Kent), Liam Dawson (Hampshire), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Jamie Overton (Surrey), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Matthew Potts (Durham), Phil Salt (Lancashire), Mark Wood (Durham), and Luke Wood (Lancashire).
Information
Development contracts for three new players
The ECB has also welcomed three new players into the England Development Contracts - Eddie Jack, Tom Lawes, and Mitchell Stanley. They will be joining Josh Hull in this category.
Strategic approach
Why two-year deals for multi-format players
Rob Key, the England men's cricket managing director, emphasized the ECB's commitment to nurturing talent and maintaining squad strength. He said, "This year's central contract group reflects the depth and strength of talent we have across England Men's cricket." Key further explained that they have awarded two-year deals to multi-format players for responsible workload management and stability needed for performance across formats.
Contract strategy
Strategy around growing franchise calendar
Key also spoke about the ECB's strategy for white-ball players, saying they have secured them on longer agreements to help with effective planning around the growing franchise calendar. He said, "This structure allows us to support our players properly while maintaining strong squads across all formats as much as possible."