ECB announces updated Central Contracts for England Men’s Cricket, Jacob Bethell granted two-year deal

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced the updated list of Central Contracts for England men’s international cricket. A total of 30 players have been awarded England Men’s Central Contracts, comprising 14 England Two-Year Central Contracts, 12 England Annual Central Contracts, and four England Development Contracts.

Sonny Baker, Liam Dawson, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton, and Luke Wood have been awarded England Central Contracts for the first time. Eddie Jack, Tom Lawes, and Mitchell Stanley have agreed to England Development Contracts for the first time, joining Josh Hull.

The Central Contract system, which covers both red-ball and white-ball cricket, takes into account the likelihood of players featuring in England teams across formats during the upcoming period, while also recognising performances over the past year.

“This year’s central contract group reflects the depth and strength of talent we have across England Men’s cricket. We have awarded two-year deals to our multi-format players, so we can manage their workloads responsibly and give them the stability they need to perform across formats,” said Rob Key, Managing Director of England Men’s Cricket as quoted by ECB.

“We have also secured a number of white-ball players on longer agreements to help us plan effectively around the growing franchise calendar and ensure England remains their priority. This structure allows us to support our players properly while maintaining strong squads across all formats as much as possible,” he added.

England Two-Year Central Contracts (30 September 2027)

Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Ben Stokes, Josh Tongue

England One-Year Central Contracts (30 September 2026)

Rehan Ahmed, Sonny Baker*, Shoaib Bashir, Zak Crawley, Liam Dawson*, Saqib Mahmood*, Jamie Overton*, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Phil Salt, Mark Wood, Luke Wood*

England Development Contracts

Josh Hull, Eddie Jack, Tom Lawes, Mitchell Stanley

*Denotes newly centrally contracted player for 2025-26