Ben Stokes has committed himself to playing for England until at least the 2027 home Ashes series after signing a two-year central contract.
Last year the England Test captain, 34, who has suffered significant knee, hamstring and shoulder injuries, only signed a one-year deal but is now one of 14 players given a two-year contract, including the 22-year-old all-rounder Jacob Bethell. The Test batsmen Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope have only been given one-year deals while the 37-year-old Adil Rashid, who only plays white-ball cricket, has been given a two-year contract.
In total 30 players have been given central contracts, which are handed out to cricketers who feature regularly for England and which range in value from about £150,000 to almost £1million. Players also receive appearance fees of approximately £14,500 per Test, £4,500 per ODI and £3,500 a T20.
Bethell is also among those to have earned a two-year deal
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Fourteen players, up from 11 when the previous batch of contracts was awarded a year ago, are on two-year deals which run up until September 30, 2027, including Jofra Archer, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler and Joe Root. Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Josh Tongue and Rashid have moved from one-year to two-year deals.
The fast bowlers Mark Wood and Matthew Potts were both given two-year deals 12 months ago and now move into their final year, while the spinner Shoaib Bashir has had his one-year contract renewed for another 12 months. Jack Leach, the spinner who has been replaced in the Test side by Bashir, has lost his central contract. Also dropping off the list is Chris Woakes, who has retired, Jonny Bairstow, who hasn’t played for England since June 2024, the Lancashire all-rounder Liam Livingstone and the fast bowlers Olly Stone and Reece Topley.
Contracts are an indication both of future selection and a reflection of performances over the past year. Each player is given an annual appraisal, with the value of their contract decided accordingly.
One noticeable absentee from the list is Jordan Cox, who was part of the England white-ball squad that recently toured New Zealand, while the Surrey all-rounder Jamie Overton has received a central contract for the first time despite deciding to step away from red-ball cricket indefinitely. Four other players have received their first central contract: the seam bowler Sonny Baker and left-arm spinner Liam Dawson, both of Hampshire, and the Lancashire seamers Saqib Mahmood and Luke Wood.
Five players have been given development contracts, under which they are given extra money (about £70,000) on top of their county contract. Such deals are mostly given to fast bowlers so that the ECB can work in conjunction with the counties to manage their workloads. Josh Hull, who made his Test debut in 2024, has had his development deal extended while Hampshire’s Eddie Jack, Surrey’s Tom Lawes and Lancashire’s Mitchell Stanley have all been given new one-year development deals. All four players are with the England Lions in Australia shadowing the main Ashes squad.
“This year’s central contract group reflects the depth and strength of talent we have across England men’s cricket,” Rob Key, England’s managing director of men’s cricket, said. “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.
“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.”
England men centrally contracted players 2025–26England two-year central contracts (up to September 30, 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 (up to September 30, 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)
Luke Wood (Lancashire)*
Mark Wood (Durham)
*Denotes newly centrally contracted player for 2025–26England development contracts
Josh Hull (Leicestershire)
Eddie Jack (Hampshire)
Tom Lawes (Surrey)
Mitchell Stanley (Lancashire)