18 England players sign multi-year contracts with ECB

Several England cricketers have signed multi-year central contracts with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for the first time amid the rise of the popularity of franchise cricket all over the world. 

A total of 18 players have signed multi-year deals with the Board, while eight players have signed the annual contract. Moreover, three players will be given England Development contracts by the ECB.

"The ECB has worked closely with the Professional Cricketers' Association and Team England Player Partnership on behalf of the players to reach an outcome for all parties," the ECB said in a statement.

Three-year central contracts have been signed by pacer Mark Wood, rising batting sensation Harry Brook, and former Test skipper Joe Root. Brook has been offered an ECB central contract for the first time. Among the 15 players who have signed the two-year contracts are Jofra Archer, limited-overs captain Jos Buttler, wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow, and the star pacer Gus Atkinson.

Strangely, Ben Stokes, England’s current Test captain, only agreed to a 12-month contract with the board. Apart from the star allrounder, there are a total of eight players who have agreed to the yearly contract, including the likes of all-arounder Moeen Ali and veteran James Anderson. After missing out on the contract in the previous year, Dawid Malan has been granted a yearly contract this year. 

David Willey, who is part of the squad that is currently in India for the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup, he has not been included. Furthermore, Three players, Saqib Mahmood, uncapped John Turner, and Matthew Fisher have been awarded development contracts.

ECB three-year central contracts: Harry Brook, Joe Root, Mark Wood

ECB two-year central contracts: Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Liam Livingstone, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes

ECB one-year central contracts: Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley

England Development contracts: Matthew Fisher, Saqib Mahmood, John Turner