Sports · Cricket · 2 hrs ago
England name 39 centrally contracted players and confirm coaching teams
England have named 39 men’s players on central contracts ahead of a busy year of cricket.
Tom Banton, Sam Cook, Jordan Cox, Henry Crocombe, Emilio Gay, Matthew Fisher and Dan Lawrence are among those receiving central deals for the first time.
Nine more players have development contracts, while 11 players, including Joe Root and Harry Brook, have two-year deals.
Ben Stokes and Mark Wood have retired, and Zak Crawley is no longer on the central-contract list.
Stephen Fleming will lead the Test coaching team, supported by Marcus Trescothick and other coaches, while Brendon McCullum remains in charge of the white-ball team.
England’s winter schedule includes Tests in South Africa, Bangladesh and Australia, with white-ball games in Australia.
The Ashes are a major event next summer, followed by the World Cup in South Africa; Brydon Carse’s contract remains in place while a regulator investigation is ongoing.
England have named a record 39 centrally contracted men’s players: 30 on main deals and nine on development contracts.
Eleven players have received two-year deals, while the other 19 main contracts run for one year.
Stephen Fleming will lead the Test team, with Brendon McCullum continuing to coach the white-ball sides.
England have also confirmed coaching appointments for both teams, including Richard Dawson as national spin-bowling lead.
The appointments come ahead of a winter schedule that includes Tests in South Africa, Bangladesh and Australia.
- Who
- England have named 39 centrally contracted players and confirmed the men’s coaching teams.
- What
- The list includes 30 main contracts and nine development contracts; 11 main contracts are for two years.
- When
- The announcements were reported on 12 October 2026.
- Where
- The teams are England’s men’s cricket sides.
- Why
- Rob Key said the expanded contracts help manage workloads and plan for the next two years; the coaching appointments set up the teams for the coming schedule.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
You want to make sure you can almost map out the next two years.
Richard Dawson would be near the top of that list.
England announced 39 central contracts and confirmed the coaching structures for the men’s teams.
Stephen Fleming is due to begin his role as Test head coach in South Africa.
- Total contracted players
- 39
- Main contracts
- 30
- Development contracts
- 9
- Two-year main contracts
- 11
- Test head coach
- Stephen Fleming
- White-ball head coach
- Brendon McCullum
Sources
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