For the first time in over a decade, the list doesn’t feature Ben Stokes, following his international retirement earlier this summer. Stokes was one year into a two-year contract, while Mark Wood, also now retired from international cricket, had reached the end of his one-year deal.

The list consists of 30 centrally contracted players, and nine who are on development contracts. Of the 30 on full contracts, 11 have been handed two-year deals, including Henry Crocombe, the highly rated pacer who has yet to make his international debut. Crocombe is one of eight players on the full contract list who did not have deals in 2025/26, while two thirds of players in the development contract group have received deals for the first time.

England Men central contracts 2026/27: 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, Josh Tongue*.

England Men development contracts 2026/27: James Coles, Mason Crane, Josh Hull, Eddie Jack, Ben McKinney, Liam Patterson-White, Thomas Rew, Matthew Revis, Mitch Stanley.

The winners

One of the most obvious winners from the announcement is , who previously held a central contract in 2022 and 2023, but has not been part of the last two rounds of deals. Having made his Test comeback this summer, in which he took 28 wickets at an average of 9.32, Robinson is now the de-facto leader of England’s pace attack.

Other notable pacers on the full contract list , who has been given a one-year deal despite having not played a Test this summer and been dropped from the squad for the final two matches against Pakistan, as well as who hasn’t been included in an England squad since the Ashes. Along with , has had his contract upgraded to a two-year period, while is another who hasn’t played a Test this year but has been awarded a full contract for the first time.

Handing out deals to fringe pace bowlers shows an increased intent from the ECB to keep their quicks under tighter coaching and workload management control. Three pace bowlers have also been handed development contracts in , and – all three of whom also held development contracts last year.

One of the biggest winners from the list is , who has won his first central contract. Gay’s place in England’s Test XI for their winter series in South Africa is uncertain, with Jacob Bethell set to return and – who has won a two-year central contract – having excelled at No.3 against Pakistan. and , both of whom were recalled to the Test squad at the end of the summer, have also been handed one year deals – Lawrence for the first time. Pope, who was dropped from the Test squad after the Ashes and lost his position as vice captain last year, is a notable name on this list, having only made it back into the squad as a spare bat.

Among the spinners on the list, , who has only played two Tests in the last 12 months and has been on the wrong end of the post-Stokes re-balance, has kept his contract. He will likely feature on England’s winter Test tours, including their visit to Bangladesh. has also won a contract extension, having started the summer in England’s squad for the first Test against New Zealand. Rehan only featured in three white-ball international matches this summer, and has been dropped for England’s upcoming ODI tri-series in Pakistan.

, who has been called up to replace Rehan in that squad – marking his first inclusion in an England squad for eight years – has also been awarded his first development contract.

Brydon Carse, who is currently under investigation by the Cricket Regulator for bringing the game into disrepute, is entering the second year of the two-year deal he was given last year.

The losers

Aside from the two retirees, the most notable name absent from last year’s list is . Having been dropped after last winter’s Ashes series, Crawley averaged 27.63 for Kent in division two of the County Championship this summer, and took a break from first-class cricket mid-season. Nevertheless, Crawley might have been an option to keep on as a potential white-ball opener, with the 50-over World Cup at the end of next year.

Another significant absence is , who played in the T20 World Cup earlier this year and was part of their T20I squad against India this summer. After a difficult match at Chester-le-Street where he was hit for 35 runs off three overs, he wasn’t included in the late-summer T20I squad against Sri Lanka.

There also may have been disappointment from some names on the list only to land one-year deals. and were on two-year contracts last year, but haven't been given extensions beyond their current term.

The names on the lists take into account the likelihood of players featuring in England teams across formats over the next 12 months, and recognise performances over the past year. While the number of players England have handed contracts leaves little room for losers, on that criteria there will be some players disappointed to not feature.

’s stand-out summer saw him take 53 Championship wickets for Somerset, as well as star across formats with the bat. Given Stokes’ retirement, he would likely have been an option in England’s re-shuffle. could also count himself unlucky given England’s upcoming subcontinental tour. , who starred in Nottinghamshire’s County Championship campaign might also have hoped for inclusion given how many contracts have been given to pace bowlers.

Nevertheless, England’s policy of inclusion on their central contracts list has drastically reduced scope for disappointment.

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