Crawley offered two-year England Men Central Contract
Tuesday 24th October 2023
Kent opening batter Zak Crawley has been offered a two year England Men Central Contract by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
The ECB has announced the Central Contract offers for England Men’s international cricket for the year from 1 October 2023. The system, which covers both red-ball and white-ball players, considers the likelihood of players featuring in England teams across formats over the next period while recognising performances in the preceding year.
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Crawley was England’s top-scorer in the 2023 Men’s Ashes series, also breaking the record of a highest individual Ashes score from a current Kent men’s batter. His 189 against Australia at Emirates Old Trafford surpassed the 188 scored by Mike Denness for England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in February 1975.
Multi-year contracts have been awarded for the first time since central contracts were established in 2000. The ECB has worked closely with the Professional Cricketers’ Association and Team England Player Partnership on behalf of the players to reach an outcome for all parties.
25-year-old Crawley signed a one-year extension to his Kent stay this past September.
In total, 29 players have received Central Contract offers – 18 England Multi-Year Central Contracts, eight England Annual Central Contracts, and three England Development 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)
Seven players (Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Matthew Potts and Josh Tongue) receive an England Central Contract offer for the first time. Yorkshire batter Dawid Malan also returns to an annual contract after missing out last year.
Matthew Fisher, Saqib Mahmood and John Turner are offered Development Contracts to support the development of high-potential talent.
Managing Director of England Men’s Cricket, Rob Key, said: “We are rewarding those players who we expect to make a significant impact over the coming years playing for England.
“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.”
Over 1/3 of tickets have already been sold for the England Women vs. New Zealand International T20 at Canterbury in 2024 – only the second time that Canterbury has hosted a Women’s International T20 match in its long history, and the first time in 12 years!
