THE England Cricket Board (ECB) has confirmed the list of 18 players who have signed England central contracts in the country’s first-ever example of multi-year deals, but England Test captain Ben Stokes has opted against signing the longer option.
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The ECB has only ever previously offered annual contracts to England players, but have opted to introduce multi-year options in the face of the pull of franchise leagues, with the longest contracts lasting three years.

Harry Brook, Joe Root and Mark Wood are the players who have signed those three-year contracts, while 15 players have signed two-year deals, including Jofra Archer, who England will hope to have fit for next year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and key future Test series.
A further eight players have signed up to more traditional one-year deals, including England Test captain Ben Stokes, who chose not to sign a longer contract on this occasion.
And 41-year-old James Anderson has also received another year’s deal to play for England.
Details of the deals have not been released.

“We are rewarding those players who we expect to make a significant impact over the coming years playing for England,” Managing Director of England Men’s Cricket, Rob Key, explained.

“It is great news and a credit to the players for demonstrating their commitment to English cricket in the ever-changing landscape of the sport.
“I would like to congratulate all the players who have been offered contracts. They will play a pivotal role in England’s efforts over the next few years.”
And Key also explained the thinking behind Stokes’ decision to sign only a one-year option.
Stokes opts out

“Ben Stokes, like people do when they have an offer of a long-term contract, it’s that trade-off of security over a stronger negotiating position. Ben feels that when the contract cycle changes he’ll be in a stronger position.
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“By no means is it Ben Stokes thinking I don’t want to play for England. He’s completely committed to playing for his country and also captaining the Test team.
“He’s planning for India, planning for the Ashes, planning for Pakistan, planning for West Indies and Sri Lanka next summer. I don’t think it’s crossed his mind not playing for England for the next four, five or six years.”
Full List of England Contracts
England Three-Year Central Contracts:

Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Mark Wood (Durham).
England Two-Year Central Contracts:

Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Gus Atkinson (Surrey), Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Brydon Carse (Durham), Zak Crawley (Kent), Sam Curran (Surrey), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Matthew Potts (Durham), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Josh Tongue (Nottinghamshire – from 1 November), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire).
England One-Year Central Contracts:

Moeen Ali (Warwickshire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Ben Foakes (Surrey), Jack Leach (Somerset), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Ben Stokes (Durham), Reece Topley (Surrey).

England Development Contracts:
Matthew Fisher (Yorkshire), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), John Turner (Hampshire).
(ICC Media)