The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) today announced a restructuring of the central contract system, which comes into effect for the 2016-2017 period.
Under the new system, which has been agreed with the Team England Player Partnership (TEPP) and the Professional Cricketers’ Association, England selectors have awarded 10 Test contracts and 11 White Ball contracts. Test specialists and those playing in all forms of the game will have their salaries paid in full by the ECB. Those on White Ball contracts will receive their supplement on top of their County salary.
From those centrally contracted in 2015/6, eight players remain on contract. Jonny Bairstow has been presented with a Test contract. Warwickshire’s Chris Woakes is one of four players, alongside Moeen Ali Joe Root and Ben Stokes, to be awarded a Test and White Ball contract respectively.
Yorkshire wicketkeeper-batsman, Bairstow, has had an outstanding summer. The 27-year-old was England’s leading batsman across the seven Tests against Sri Lanka and Pakistan scoring 753 runs at an average of 75.30, striking two centuries and four fifties in his 11 innings.
Woakes continued his progress in the international arena. The Warwickshire all-rounder scored 282 runs, at an average of 40.28, and took 34 wickets at 17.20 each, in Test cricket. In the shorter format, against Pakistan, he was England’s leading wicket-taker in the One-Day International Series taking nine wickets at an average of 19.22. Earlier in the campaign against Sri Lanka, he scored a career-best 95 not out in the tied match at Trent Bridge.
Under the new structure, players’ in both formats will receive a ‘ranking’ based on their performances on the pitch, as well as a number of other factors, including off-field contribution, fielding and fitness. Those rankings will then correlate with the players’ level of remuneration.
In addition to central contracts, selectors can award a limited number of increment contracts. Yorkshire top-order batsman Gary Ballance is a recipient of an increment contract for the next 12 months.
The contracts, which cover a 12-month period commencing 1 October 2016, have been awarded to the following players:
Test Contracts
- Moeen Ali (Worcestershire)
- James Anderson (Lancashire)
- Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire)
- Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire)
- Alastair Cook (Essex)
- Steven Finn (Middlesex)
- Joe Root (Yorkshire)
- Ben Stokes (Durham)
- Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)
- Mark Wood (Durham)
White Ball Contracts
- Moeen Ali (Worcestershire)
- Jos Buttler (Lancashire)
- Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire)
- Eoin Morgan (Middlesex)
- Liam Plunkett (Yorkshire)
- Joe Root (Yorkshire)
- Jason Roy (Surrey)
- Adil Rashid (Yorkshire)
- Ben Stokes (Durham)
- Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)
- David Willey (Yorkshire)
Increment Contract
- Gary Ballance (Yorkshire)
Director of England Cricket, Andrew Strauss, said: “We believe the restructure of the central contract system will recognise the increased focus of the shorter format and the importance that we place on this as we continue our progress towards hosting the 2019 World Cup.
“It is undeniable that the introduction of central contracts in 2002 has greatly benefited the fortunes of the England Test team. During this period the team has consistently performed well against the other Test nations around the world. We hope that continues over the next few years.
“The international game is evolving rapidly, and we have to keep pace with developments on the field. Our game wide strategy sets out the objective of creating balance between the formats, and this is reflected by the restructure of Central contracts. Ultimately, we are fully committed developing world class players in both Red and White Ball cricket to aid the goal of becoming the world’s number one team.”
