England Cricket has announced a bumper list of centrally-contracted players, with 39 individuals signing deals ahead of a significant year for the sport. Spinner Shoaib Bashir and batter Ollie Pope are among the 30 players retaining central contracts, while Tom Banton, Sam Cook, Jordan Cox, Henry Crocombe, Emilio Gay, Matt Fisher, and Dan Lawrence have been awarded deals for the first time. Additionally, nine players, including teenage Somerset batter Thomas Rew and Nottinghamshire spinning all-rounder Liam Patterson-White, have received development contracts.
Eleven players, including captains Joe Root and Harry Brook, have been given two-year contracts. Ben Stokes and Mark Wood, who have retired, and Kent opener Zak Crawley are no longer on the list. Brydon Carse still has a year remaining on his deal, despite facing a charge from the Cricket Regulator over an incident in Derby in August.
The coaching structure for the men’s red and white-ball sides has also been confirmed. Stephen Fleming begins his tenure with the Test team, supported by Marcus Trescothick, James Foster, Eric Simons, and Richard Dawson, who returns as spin bowling lead. Brendon McCullum will continue as white-ball coach, with a staff including Tim Southee, Jeetan Patel, Sarah Taylor, and Kevin Pietersen, who remains a specialist batting mentor. Mike Yardy has been appointed as elite national batting lead.
These appointments come ahead of a busy winter featuring Tests in South Africa, Bangladesh, and Australia, where England will also play white-ball games in November. Next summer will see the Ashes, followed by the World Cup in South Africa in 12 months' time.