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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Matthew Cooper

Jofra Archer one of 18 England stars to land central contract despite long injury exile

Jofra Archer has retained his England central contract, with the fast bowler nearing a return from injury after last playing international cricket in March 2021. But opener Jason Roy has been downgraded to an increment deal after being dropped for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

England have awarded 18 annual central contracts, with Liam Livingstone and Ben Foakes two new recipients. Livingstone has been upgraded to a central contract after becoming a key member of England's white ball sides, while Foakes has been rewarded for establishing himself as the first-choice wicketkeeper in Test cricket.

Harry Brook and Matthew Potts, who both made their England debuts this year, have been awarded increment contracts. Reece Topley has also been rewarded with an increment deal after his successful return to international cricket, while David Willey is back on the list after missing out last year.

Chris Jordan is a notable absentee from the list, although he has only played T20Is for England over the past two years, having lost his increment contract and Test opener Alex Lees is also conspicuous by his absence. Rory Burns has unsurprisingly lost his central contract, having not played for England since his post-Ashes axing, while Dawid Malan has been downgraded to an increment deal with the 35-year-old now only first-choice in T20Is.

Dom Bess and Tom Curran have also lost their increment contracts, while Brydon Carse, Matthew Fisher and Jamie Overton join Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton and Olly Stone on pace bowling development deals. Phil Salt, Alex Hales and Jordan are the only members of England's T20 World Cup squad not included on the list.

"I feel we have rewarded those players who have made a significant impact over the previous 12 months and those we expect to be part of England's plans over the next period," Managing Director of England Men's Cricket Rob Key said.

Jason Roy has been downgraded to an increment deal, while Chris Jordan has not been offered a contract altogether (LINDSEY PARNABY/AFP via Getty Images)

"The international game continues to evolve, and we must be mindful that we have to lead the way in player performance across the sport. The aim is to develop world-class players in all three formats as we strive to become the best team in the world.

"I would like to congratulate all the players offered agreements for the coming year. They will all play a pivotal role in England's efforts over the next 12 months."

Andrew Strauss' high-performance review did include plans to "evolve central contracts" with "higher allocation to multi-format players, multi-year deals" and "match fees to cover higher percentage for red and white-ball specialists", but no changes will be made to the system for at least a year.

England Central Contracts: Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Liam Livingstone, Ollie Pope, Adil Rashid, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood

England Increment Contracts: Harry Brook, Dawid Malan, Matthew Potts, Jason Roy, Reece Topley, David Willey

England Pace Bowling Development Contracts: Brydon Carse, Matthew Fisher, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Jamie Overton, Olly Stone

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