England reveal new men's central contracts list
The ECB has confirmed 30 centrally contracted players and nine development contracts, alongside new coaching appointments across the Test and white-ball teams.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced its England Men’s contract list for the 2026/27 season, with 30 players awarded Central Contracts and nine receiving England Development Contracts.
The expanded 39-player list features several first-time central contracts, while six players have earned their first England Development deals. The system covers both red-ball and white-ball cricket, considering players’ potential involvement across formats in the coming period alongside their performances over the past year.
England Men Centrally Contracted Players:
Joe Root*, Harry Brook*, Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer*, Gus Atkinson*, Sonny Baker*, Tom Banton, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell*, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Jordan Cox*, Henry Crocombe*, Sam Curran*, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Matthew Fisher, Will Jacks*, Dan Lawrence, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Ollie Robinson, Phil Salt, Jamie Smith and Josh Tongue*.
(*Denotes two-year deal, until 30 September 2028)
Seven players have signed their first Central Contracts: Tom Banton, Sam Cook, Jordan Cox, Henry Crocombe, Emilio Gay, Matthew Fisher and Dan Lawrence. Ollie Robinson returns to the list, having previously held a Central Contract in 2022 and 2023.
Sonny Baker has been upgraded to a two-year contract, while Cox and Crocombe have also signed two-year deals. In total, 11 players are on two-year contracts.
England Men Development Contracted Players 2026–27:
James Coles, Mason Crane, Josh Hull, Eddie Jack, Ben McKinney, Liam Patterson-White, Thomas Rew, Matthew Revis and Mitch Stanley.
Coles, Crane, McKinney, Patterson-White, Rew and Revis have signed their first development deals. Crane’s contract comes in the same week he is set to join an England squad for the first time in more than eight years.
At 18, Rew is the youngest player on the list. He captained the Young Lions to the final of the ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup earlier this year.
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The ECB has also confirmed the National Lead Coaching Structure and coaching staff for the England Men’s Test and white-ball teams.
Mike Yardy has been appointed Elite National Batting Lead, while Richard Dawson takes on the role of Elite National Spin Bowling Lead. Troy Cooley began his role as Elite National Pace Bowling Lead earlier this year.
England Men’s Test Head Coach Stephen Fleming will work alongside Dawson, Marcus Trescothick, James Foster and Eric Simons.
Brendon McCullum’s white-ball coaching team will include Sarah Taylor, Jeetan Patel and Tim Southee, with Kevin Pietersen taking on a specialist mentor role.
The coaching staff will be in place for England’s upcoming tours of South Africa in Test cricket and Australia in white-ball cricket.