Captains of England's Test and limited over formats, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, in a fresh development, have signed a two-year duration central contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), on Thursday. October 31. Notably, Stokes earlier had a 12-month contract while Buttler already had a two-year deal.
Moreover, out of the total 29 contracted players, 19 players hold a yearly basis contract while seven players have a deal of two years with the English board. While the remaining three players are on England Cricket's development programme contracts. Meanwhile, the rising star batter Jamie Smith too has inked a two-year contract with the ECB.
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Interestingly, he was also among the five players who have a multi-year central contract. Notably, the multi-year basis deals were introduced in the English cricket diaspora for the first time in the year 2023. Apart from Smith, players like Phil Salt, Olly Stone, Shoaib Bashir and Will Jacks are the other star players possessing the one-year deal.
Strength of talent across England is clear in quality of players who are centrally contracted: Rob Key
While under the development scheme, youngsters like Josh Hull, Jacob Bethell and John Turner have an England development central contract. Besides, when it comes to contract renewal situation, the rising star pacer Gus Atkinson has renewed his two-year deal with the ECB, while Reece Topley and spinner Jack Leach have bagged their one-year deals, respectively.
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"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," said ECB in their statement as per Cricbuzz.
"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," stated Rob Key, who is the Managing Director of England Men's Cricket.
"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," he concluded.
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