Sam Curran receives first England central contract for Test cricket
Wednesday 3 October 2018 08:30, UK
Surrey's Sam Curran has been awarded an England central contract for Test cricket for the first time after his stellar series against India.
Curran was named Player of the Series for the home side - despite being dropped for the third Test - after averaging 38.85 with the bat and taking 11 wickets at 23.54.
The 20-year-old was subsequently included in England's 16-man tour party for this winter's Sky Live Test series against Sri Lanka and recalled to the ODI squad, which also includes his brother Tom - a recipient of an incremental contract for the next 12 months.
It completes a superb summer for the siblings, who celebrated Surrey's first County Championship title since 2002 on Thursday.
In total, England's national selector Ed Smith has awarded 10 Test contracts and 13 white-ball deals for the coming year, starting on October 1.
England's on-going frailties at the top of the order in Test cricket are highlighted by the decision not to award a deal to Keaton Jennings, who averaged 18 against India.
But Jos Buttler - recalled to the Test squad at the start of the summer after an impressive IPL campaign - and Adil Rashid, picked for the India Test series despite signing a white-ball only deal with Yorkshire at the time, both receive five-day contracts after cementing their places over the summer.
The pair are two of seven players to receive Test and white-ball contracts - Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes the others.
Test specialists and those playing in all forms of the game will have their salaries paid in full by the ECB. Those on white ball contracts will receive their supplement on top of their county salary.
Under the structure, players in both formats will receive a 'ranking' based on their performances on the pitch, as well as a number of other factors, including off-field contribution, fielding and fitness. Those rankings will then correlate with the level of remuneration.
Test Match contracts: Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Sam Curran (Surrey), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire).
ODI / T20 contracts: Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Liam Plunkett (Surrey), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Ben Stokes (Durham), David Willey (Yorkshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham).
Incremental contracts: Tom Curran (Surrey)
Watch every ball of England's ODI, T20 and Test series against Sri Lanka live on Sky Sports Cricket - starting with the first ODI on Wednesday, October 10. Full details here.
