England batsman Bairstow loses Test central contract for 2020-21
Jonny Bairstow made his England debut in a one-day international in 2011, and his Test debut the following year.
Jonny Bairstow made his England debut in a one-day international in 2011, and his Test debut the following year.

WICKETKEEPER batsman Jonny Bairstow has not been given an England central contract for Test cricket in 2020-21.

Yorkshire’s Bairstow, 31, who was not selected for the summer’s Test series with West Indies and Pakistan, remains contracted for limited-overs cricket.

Batsmen Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope and Dom Sibley all receive a Test central contract for the first time.

All-rounder Tom Curran has been given a white-ball contract, while Kent batsman Joe Denly misses out altogether.

Denly had previously held a limited-overs contract.

Meanwhile, spinner Dom Bess, seamer Chris Jordan and batsman Dawid Malan – previously uncontracted – will receive incremental deals.

The contracts, handed to a total of 23 players, start on October 1 and run for 12 months.

Players on the Test and white-ball contracts will have their salaries, which are calculated by a ranking system based on performance, fitness and other factors, paid in full by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

However, ECB says there could be an impact on how much players are paid as a result of the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic, with levels of remuneration currently being finalised.

‘Bairstow omission was inevitable’ – Jonathan Agnew, BBC cricket correspondent

This announcement comes with the backdrop of a £1M deficit and the likelihood of the same shortfall next year.

And while ECB has recognised that it must reduce its staff by 20% – that’s 62 jobs – the playing side remains unaffected.

Having lost his Test place and now arguably the third-choice wicketkeeper behind Jos Buttler and Ben Foakes it was inevitable that Bairstow should lose his Test central contract, with Crawley, Pope and Sibley all attaining that status for the first time.

Test and white-ball contracts: Jofra Archer (Sussex), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)

Test contracts: James Anderson (Lancashire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Rory Burns (Surrey), Zak Crawley (Kent), Sam Curran (Surrey), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Dom Sibley (Warwickshire)

White-ball contracts: Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Tom Curran (Surrey), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Mark Wood (Durham). Incremental contracts: Dom Bess (Yorkshire), Chris Jordan (Sussex), Jack Leach (Somerset), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire)

Pace bowling developmental contracts: Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Craig Overton (Somerset), Olly Stone (Warwickshire). (BBC Sport)

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