Jofra Archer earns England Test and white-ball contracts for 2019-20 season

Barbados-born England fast bowler Jofra Archer has made everyone sit up and take notice of his immense talent as a genuinely quick bowler. He was fast-forwarded into the England team after his exploits in the T20 leagues in Australia and India and in English county cricket. He helped England lift their maiden ODI World Cup in 2019 with an amazing Super Over in the finals. Archer was then selected for the Ashes 2019 and he flourished with the red ball as well.

He might have not done much with the bat, but his 22 wickets in the five-match series were the second most for England after Stuart Broad and his battle with Steve Smith made Test cricket interesting again. He floored Smith with a vicious bouncer, hitting him behind his neck and gave him a concussion, making him miss the third Test at the Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

Archer gets a central contract from ECB

Since his debut for England in May, Archer has gone onto prove himself to be one of the most exciting new cricketers at the international circuit. He has now cemented his place in the England team as he was granted a central contract for both white-ball and red-ball cricket. His improvement was recognized by Ashley Giles, England’s Director of Cricket as per The Guardian.

Rory Burns also received a Test contract after scoring good runs including a century in the Ashes, while Joe Denly, who made 94 in the fourth Test, was rewarded with a white-ball deal in recognition of his role in upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia. Jack Leach, who cemented his place as England’s no.1 Test spinner has been given an incremental contract for next season alongside Surrey quick Tom Curran.

Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid were only given white-ball contracts, putting their Test futures in jeopardy. Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, and David Willey miss out altogether on ECB central contracts, which run for 12 months from October 1st. Test specialists and those playing in all forms of the game will have their salaries paid in full by the ECB.

From February 1, 2020, the start of the ECB 2020 Financial Year, those on white-ball contracts will move from receiving a supplement on top of their county salary to have their salaries paid in full by the ECB.

Test Contracts:

James Anderson (Lancashire), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Rory Burns (Surrey), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Sam Curran (Surrey), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire).

ODI / T20 Contracts

Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Joe Denly (Kent), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Ben Stokes (Durham), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham).*Incremental*Tom Curran (Surrey), Jack Leach (Somerset)

Watch: 10 Expensive cars owned by Indian cricketers