England announced their annual list of central contracts yesterday (October 31) with some headline deals among the usual faces.
Having endured two difficult World Cup campaigns since the last list was announced, and with several retirements from senior players, there was likely to be some significant movement from the announcement. There's also the involvement of Brendon McCullum now as England's only head coach across formats to factor in. With the Champions Trophy on the horizon and three years left of the new World Cup cycle, he has an opportunity to shape the next year at least of his core white-ball players.
There are still some hangovers though, and England are contending with the consequences of awarding multi-year contracts to players who are no longer in their immediate planning. This namely concerns Jonny Bairstow, who still has a year left to see out of the two-year contract he was awarded last year, despite not having been selected in an England squad since the T20 World Cup. Josh Tongue slightly unfortunately also falls into this category. Given a two-year central contract last year, injury has prevented him playing a role for England since the 2023 Lord's Ashes Test.
Nevertheless, among the changes to the contract list, there was plenty of movement to note.
The winners
The most obvious winner from the announcement was Jamie Smith. Having been picked as England's Test wicketkeeper over others seemingly ahead of him in the pecking order at the start of the summer, the start he's made to his international career has made him an inked in name on the team sheet. He also made some promising contributions in the ODIs against Australia in September, and was undeniably England's breakout star of the year. While committing for two years to a young player with only a handful of matches under his belt, the length of time makes sense given what Smith has shown he's capable of. It's hard to imagine him not being a big part of England's thoughts in any format this time next year.
The multi-year list also included Gus Atkinson, who was given a one-year extension of his previous deal - a formality given his returns across the Test summer. Brydon Carse is another interesting case. He was given a two-year contract last year, despite still operating on the fringes of the white-ball side. Coming good in Pakistan has justified keeping him on the books but out of the XI for so long. On the other end of the scale, an extension of Jack Leach's one year contract is slightly puzzling, although perhaps in-keeping with the squad they've named for the New Zealand Test series. Given that Leach doesn't play white-ball international cricket, the extension of his contract signals that he's part of England's plans going forward across the home summer, which paints a confusing picture of who their No.1 spinner is given Shoaib Bashir was also awarded his first contract.
For new contractees, Phil Salt, Will Jacks and Olly Stone have also been given contracts for the first time. Given the amount of international cricket the first two have played this year, that seems a formality, while Stone's contract takes him through with England to just before the Ashes. Developmental contracts to Jacob Bethell and Josh Hull are also logical given that England seem intent on blooding them in all three formats.
The biggest headline, however, is that Jos Buttler has signed a brand new shiny two-year contract. Given the uncertainty over his future as England's white-ball captain after their World Cup campaigns, and how comfortable Harry Brook looked in the job against Australia, whether England would want to commit to him too far beyond the Champions Trophy was a question-mark. However, it's a mark of faith in their red-ball captain that he's locked in beyond the next T20 World Cup.
The losers
The two biggest names to lose out on the list are Ben Foakes and Ollie Robinson. Both featured on England's Test tour of India earlier this year, while Robinson was earmarked as England's future attack leader only two summers ago. Foakes' absence does seem like the latest incident of 'so nearly' in his career. Having been fending off calls for Bairstow for most of his career, Smith blasted through the ranks to take his Test gloves, and there seems slim chances of them being returned any time soon. As for Robinson, that England have trialed so many new and returning pace bowlers this summer with Robinson's name seemingly not even in the equation, speaks volumes.
It's also to note that Chris Woakes remains on the two-year deal he signed last year. Seemingly on the fringes of the white-ball set-up now, he's positioned himself as the leader of the Test attack, and earned an overseas recall, having stated he has ambitions of another Ashes winter. While Atkinson and Wood are inked in as the core of England's Test attack for that target, the jury is still out on where/if Woakes fits into that.
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