ECB delays the announcement of central contracts

England Cricket Board (ECB) has delayed the announcement of the central contracts of the England cricket team which was originally scheduled on Wednesday. Now it is expected that they would reveal the list of players on new contracts for the next 12 months on Thursday. The decision was taken to avoid the clashing with the Professional Cricketers’ Association dinner in London on Wednesday night and Tuesday’s Cricket Writers’ lunch.

Most of the players picked for the Ashes are expected to be awarded the contracts. Also, the team is in the middle of the good run as they have won the Test series against South Africa and Windies. In the limited overs format too, the team defeated both the touring parties and made it to the semi-finals of ICC Champions Trophy which was hosted by them. However, the confusion remains over the contracts of Ben Stokes and Alex Hales.

What about Stokes and Hales?

There has been conjecture over the contracts for Ben Stokes and Alex Hales after the pair was suspended after being involved in an altercation outside the bar in Bristol. The investigation is undergoing regarding the incident in which the England all-rounder punched the guy 15 times in a minute. The cricketer has received a lot of flak from the fans and the former cricketers who advised him to ‘grow up’ in order to save his international career.

There is also a chance that England might have to travel Australia without their most valuable player in case Stokes is found guilty in the case. The jolt would be severe to the team led by Joe Root who will try and defend the urn down under. Though some of the England players are coming out of the comments as they would win the Ashes even without Stokes, deep down they also know that it is near to impossible. The balance that he brings to the team is immense and his loss would be a huge one to the team. But for now, it would be interesting to see if the suspended cricketers are included in the central contract by ECB.