In a press release, the board stated that Bethell has signed a two-year central contract running until September 2026. This is a swift turn of events, as Bethell was one of three players, alongside Josh Hull and Josh Turner, awarded a development contract by the ECB just last month.

This upgrade comes on the back of a promising Test debut for 21-year-old Bethell, who was asked to bat at No.3 and scored a fluent, unbeaten 50 off 37 balls in the fourth innings to take England over the line against New Zealand in Christchurch. He has also played eight ODIs and seven T20Is for England, all in 2024.

The all-rounder was also one of three English players signed up by IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and will be paid INR 2.6 crore (roughly £242,000) for playing in the upcoming season.

The other significant contract news concerns three pace bowlers. Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse and Matthew Potts have all signed a one-year extension through to 2026. Previously, all three were on one-year contracts, for the 2024/25 season alone.

As recently as last month, Archer was reportedly involved in tricky negotiations with the ECB over his participation in the IPL. With the board keen to manage his workload ahead of next year's Ashes in Australia, Archer initially did not enter the auction, meaning he would not be able to play in the league for the following two seasons as well.

However, he was later included in the auction list as a ban might have kept him out of the league for longer than the length of his England contract.

Carse impressed in the Christchurch Test as well, putting in an all-round show with 4-64 & 6-42 with the ball, and an unbeaten 33 in the second innings. In three Tests so far, he has taken 19 wickets at 17.1 apiece.

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