Stokes retained in new England contracts

The England and Wales Cricket Board has issued a new batch of 20 central contracts, with Ben Stokes retained in the midst of his ongoing hiatus and Jack Leach, Ollie Robinson and Dawid Malan all earning first-time deals.

The distinction between red and white-ball deals, which came in five years ago, has been scrapped with all players appearing on a single list with an internal pay scale which continues to offer greater weight to performances in Test cricket.

The list of 20 core players is supplemented by four more on incremental terms, while Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton and Olly Stone all keep their pace bowling development contracts.

One notable loser from the latest round of awards is Dom Sibley, a Test regular since his debut in 2019 who was dropped in the summer after a run of poor form. He has been left off the list entirely, suggesting head coach and chief selector Chris Silverwood believes he is some way from a recall.

Stokes has not played for his country since July, when he cut short rehabilitation on a broken index finger to captain the one-day side at short notice following a Covid outbreak.

He has since taken time away from the game to focus on his mental health and his injury, which recently required a second operation.

He is not appearing in the T20 World Cup this month and is unlikely to be back for the Ashes but there are hopes that he will return to the fold in 2022 and his appearance on the contracted list chimes with that belief.

Sussex seamer Robinson was superb on the field this summer, despite some self-inflicted turmoil off it, taking 28 wickets in five Tests at an average of 19.60. Malan, meanwhile, was recalled to the Test side having already established himself as a mainstay of the T20 side.

On the other hand, Leach finds himself promoted to the main list having not worn the Three Lions all summer. He was excellent over the winter tours of Sri Lanka and India but was edged out of the team on home soil and owes his renewed status as first-choice Test spinner to Moeen Ali’s retirement.

The decision to axe Warwickshire opener Sibley, who averaged less than 20 with the bat in his 10 Test appearances this year, is at odds with a show of confidence in Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope.

Crawley was also axed from the XI after struggling over an extended period, while Pope has seen his own spot come into question. Both have been kept on, but Sibley’s replacement at the top of the order – Haseeb Hameed – is kept waiting having made just two appearances since beginning his international comeback.

Four members of the 15-man T20 World Cup squad – Sam Billings, David Willey and Tymal Mills – go without contracts, while rising star Liam Livingstone joins Dom Bess, Chris Jordan and Tom Curran on the lower incremental banding.

Stokes retained in new England contracts
Independent Information