Four Lancashire players recognised with England contracts
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has confirmed the updated Central Contract list and coaching structure for England Men’s international cricket, with four Lancashire players recognised with deals.
Fast bowler Saqib Mahmood and opening batter Phil Salt have been awarded Central Contracts until 30th September 2027, and Mitch Stanley has been given a Development Contract for 2026/27. Wicket-keeper Jos Buttler is already under contract with England, also until the 30th September 2027.
The expanded playing list includes 30 players on Central Contracts with a further nine players on England Development contracts for 2026/27. The 2025/26 list included a total of 30 contracted players.
England Men Centrally Contracted Players
Joe Root* (Yorkshire)
Harry Brook* (Yorkshire)
Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire)
Jofra Archer* (Sussex)
Gus Atkinson* (Surrey)
Sonny Baker* (Hampshire)
Tom Banton (Somerset)
Shoaib Bashir (Derbyshire)
Jacob Bethell* (Warwickshire)
Jos Buttler (Lancashire)
Brydon Carse (Durham)
Sam Cook (Essex)
Jordan Cox* (Essex)
Henry Crocombe* (Sussex/Surrey)
Sam Curran* (Surrey)
Liam Dawson (Hampshire)
Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire)
Emilio Gay (Durham)
Matthew Fisher (Surrey)
Will Jacks* (Surrey)
Dan Lawrence (Surrey)
Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire)
Jamie Overton (Surrey)
Ollie Pope (Surrey)
Matthew Potts (Durham)
Adil Rashid (Yorkshire)
Ollie Robinson (Sussex)
Phil Salt (Lancashire)
Jamie Smith (Surrey)
Josh Tongue* (Nottinghamshire)
*Denotes two-year deal through until 30 September 2028*
England Men Development Contracted Players 2026–27
James Coles (Sussex)
Mason Crane (Glamorgan)
Josh Hull (Leicestershire)
Eddie Jack (Hampshire)
Ben McKinney (Durham)
Liam Patterson-White (Nottinghamshire)
Thomas Rew (Somerset)
Matthew Revis (Yorkshire)
Mitch Stanley (Lancashire)
For the second year running, Lancashire fast bowler Stanley has been awarded a Development Contract, recognising his impressive performances for the Red Rose and England Lions.
In 2026, he picked up 25 wickets in eight Rothesay County Championship appearances and 10 white-ball wickets in seven games, which included 4-30 in the Roses game at Emirates Old Trafford Cricket Ground.
Both Mahmood and Salt retain their Central Contracts, having been under contract with England for a number of years, in line with their role in the white-ball teams under Brendon McCullum.
Opener Salt has almost 3000 international runs, with five centuries, including four iT20 hundreds. Mahmood has 57 wickets across all three formats for England.
In a sign of the growing depth of England Men’s cricket the 39-strong list includes eight players who have agreed Central Contracts, who did not have such a deal for 2025/26, while six players have signed an England Development contract for the first time.
Tom Banton, Sam Cook, Jordan Cox, Henry Crocombe, Emilio Gay, Matt Fisher and Dan Lawrence have signed Central Contracts for the first time while Ollie Robinson returns to the list having previously been awarded a Central Contract in 2022 and 2023. Fisher has previously held an England Development Contract (2023) and a Pace Bowling Contract (2022).
Sonny Baker is upgraded to a two-year contract while Cox and Crocombe’s first Central Contracts are also for two years. There are a total of 11 players on two-year contracts.
James Coles, Mason Crane, Ben McKinney, Liam Patterson-White, Thomas Rew and Mattthew Revis have signed their first England Development contracts. Crane earns his contract in the same week he is to join up with an England squad for the first time in over eight years, while Rew, who captained the Young Lions to the ICC Men’s U19s World Cup final earlier this year, is the youngest player on the list aged 18.
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