A total of five players are awarded England's central contracts for the first time.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have announced the list of centrally contracted players for the 2025/26 season for men’s international cricket. Two-Year Central Contracts, Annual Central Contracts, and a few Development Contracts have ben handed out by the ECB. However, Liam Livingstone, who is set to be a part of the RCB Released Players 2026 list, did not get a place in the 30names.
A total of 30 players have been named in the list of contracts, which have been segregated into three categories. 14 players have been named under the two-year contract list, 12 under the annual central contracts followed by four names, which will be a part of development contracts.
With these, there are five players including the likes of Jacob Bethell, who were granted central contracts for the first time in their career. Speedster Sonny Baker is also one of the names to receive a contract for the maiden time.
It was not a long time ago, that RCB star Liam Livingstone led the English side in the absence of Jos Buttler for a white-ball series. However, the English all-rounder was not handed a central contract this year by the ECB. Moreover, he is also expected to find himself in the RCB Released Players 2026 List, which would mean a downhill curve for his career, unless he is picked in the auction by some franchise.
One of the biggest deciding factors in order to slot players in the particular contract list would be their ability to play each format coupled with their performances in the past. The calendar for the future events, including the ICC tournaments and the probability of selection in those events would also be a big factor which might have influenced the decisions.
The Managing Director for England Men’s Cricket, Rob Key stated that the management holds a lot of pride in the depth and the strength which the English teams possess across formats. Since the last last few years, the England side has been a force to reckon with in terms of the way that they have played their cricket in. England have displayed a fearless brand of cricket, and they do hold a lot of pride in playing in the same manner.
“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. This structure allows us to support our players properly while maintaining strong squads across all formats as much as possible”, said Rob Key.
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Jofra Archer (Sussex), Gus Atkinson (Surrey), Jacob Bethell (Warwickshire), Harry Brook (Yorkshire),Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Brydon Carse (Durham), Sam Curran (Surrey), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Will Jacks (Surrey), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jamie Smith (Surrey), Ben Stokes (Durham), Josh Tongue (Nottinghamshire).
Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire), Sonny Baker (Hampshire), Shoaib Bashir (Somerset), Zak Crawley (Kent), Liam Dawson (Hampshire), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Jamie Overton (Surrey), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Matthew Potts (Durham), Phil Salt (Lancashire), Mark Wood (Durham), Luke Wood (Lancashire).
Josh Hull (Leicestershire), Eddie Jack (Hampshire), Tom Lawes (Surrey), Mitchell Stanley (Lancashire).
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