Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope and Dom Sibley awarded first Test contracts; Tom Curran given white-ball deal but no contract for Joe Denly
Wednesday 30 September 2020 17:29, UK
Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope and Dom Sibley have been awarded their first Test central contracts with England, but Jonny Bairstow and Mark Wood have missed out on red-ball deals for 2020-21.
Crawley, Pope and Sibley have been rewarded for their performances over the last 12 months, during which all three batsmen scored their maiden Test centuries.
Bairstow has lost his Test contract after playing just one five-day match for England in the last year, while Wood has also missed out despite playing three Test matches in 2020.
Both players have, however, been awarded white-ball central contracts along with Surrey all-rounder Tom Curran, who has made the step up from an increment deal.
Speaking on Bairstow losing his red-ball deal, Ashley Giles, England's managing director of men's cricket, said: "He's taken it as well as you could expect - and I mean that genuinely.
"It's hard news to hear, especially as someone who's played so much cricket for England across all forms. It's a knock for him, I'm sure. But I think he truly still does have a desire to go on and play Test cricket.
"I hope it leaves him very hungry to continue and have a really important part to play in the future of English Test cricket."
Dawid Malan remains on an increment contract despite being currently ranked as the No 1 T20 batsman in the world, while there is no red or white- ball deal for Joe Denly.
The ECB has confirmed players' pay is still be finalised for the new contracts, which will run for 12 months from October 1.
A statement read: "In light of the impact of COVID-19 on the finances of the game, the Team England Player Partnership, on behalf of the players, and the ECB are currently finalising the levels of player remuneration for the next 12 months. A further statement will be made once these discussions have concluded."
James Anderson (Lancashire), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Rory Burns (Surrey), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Sam Curran (Surrey), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Dom Sibley (Warwickshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire).
Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Tom Curran (Surrey), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Ben Stokes (Durham), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham).
Dom Bess (Somerset), Chris Jordan (Sussex), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire), Jack Leach (Somerset)
Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Craig Overton (Somerset), Olly Stone (Warwickshire)
