Jacob Bethell with Harry Brook (Source: AFP Photos)
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Tuesday announced their 30-man central contract list for the 2025-26 season. The biggest talking point of the news was the absence of two veterans – Jack Leach and Jonny Bairstow.
On the other hand, Jacob Bethell, who made headlines quite a few times for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in IPL 2025, has been rewarded with a two-year contract. Adding to that, Jofra Archer, who had a one-year contract with England, has extended it to a two-year deal in the updated list.
New names are in for England
As many as five new players – Sonny Baker, Liam Dawson, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton and Luke Wood – have received England’s central contract for the very first time. In addition, three new players – Eddie Jack, Tom Lawes and Mitchell Stanley – have joined England Development Contracts along with 6-feet-7-inch tall pacer Josh Hull.
“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," Rob Key, Managing Director of England Men’s Cricket, said in a statement.
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“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 Men Centrally Contracted Players 2025–26
England Two-Year Central Contracts (30 September 2027)
- 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)
England One-Year Central Contracts (30 September 2026)
- 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)*
*Denotes newly centrally contracted player for 2025–26
England Development Contracts
- Josh Hull (Leicestershire)
- Eddie Jack (Hampshire)
- Tom Lawes (Surrey)
- Mitchell Stanley (Lancashire)
In short, there have been 14 players who have got England’s two-year central contract, 12 players who have one-year contracts, while four are on development contracts.
 (1).jpg?type=mq "PAK vs SA Toss")
