England Cricket Board (ECB) on October 12 announced their list of men's central contracts. ECB has offered a total of 39 contracts including nine developments contracts for the 2026-27 cycle. Recently retired Ben Stokes and Mark Wood have been understandably left out whereas discarded Test opener Zak Crawley and left-arm pacer Luke Wood have been dropped.
ECB’s list of players with two-year contracts is headlined by Test skipper Joe Root, white-ball captain Harry Brook. The surprise inclusions in the two-year contracts are wicketkeeper-batter Jordan Cox and Henry Crocombe. While Cox has done well in limited Test and ODI opportunities this year, 25-year-old Crocombe is yet to make his debut for England in any format.
Meanwhile, Tom Banton, Ollie Robinson, Emilio Gay, Matthew Fisher, Dan Lawrence and Sam Cook have got one-year contracts after missing out in the previous season. From the list of development contracts, Tom Lawes is the only player who is no longer contracted.
Pacers Brydon Carse and Gus Atkinson have retained their contracts despite nightclub incidents which saw them miss Tests in the ongoing season.
England’s list of players with central contracts for 2026-27
Two-year contracts: Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Jacob Bethell, Jordan Cox, Henry Crocombe, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Joe Root, Josh Tongue (to 30 September 2028).
One-year contracts: Rehan Ahmed, Tom Banton, Shoaib Bashir, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Matthew Fisher, Emilio Gay, Dan Lawrence, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Ollie Robinson, Phil Salt, Jamie Smith (to 30 September 2027).
Development contracts: James Coles, Mason Crane, Josh Hull, Eddie Jack, Ben McKinney, Liam Patterson-White, Thomas Rew, Matthew Revis, Mitchell Stanley (to 30 September 2027).
Major additions to coaching staff
ECB also announce England men's teams coaching staffs. For red-ball cricket, head coach Stephen Fleming has called upon his former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) buddies Eric Simons and James Foster. Simons was Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) bowling coach. Foster has worked as the five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) title-winning franchise’s fielding coach.
With Foster’s arrival, England women’s former wicketkeeper-batter Sarah Taylor is set to leave the Test setup. Sarah had helped Jamie Smith stand up to the wickets against Ollie Robinson in the recent Test series.
Also, England's Richard Dawson has been appointed as Elite National Spin Bowling Lead alongside Mike Yardy who gets the Elite National Batting Lead. But, Dawson will join Fleming's backroom staff as well.
“Dawson returns to the England Men's coaching structure after two years as head coach of Glamorgan, leading the Welsh county to promotion to Division One of the Rothesay County Championship in 2025 and securing their status in the top division in 2026. He has previously served as England Lions head coach, England U19s head coach and England Elite Pathways coach,” ECB said in a statement.
“Foster, a former England wicketkeeper, comes into the national setup with a wealth of international and franchise coaching experience. He served as a white-ball consultant coach for England Men between 2018 and 2022, before working with New Zealand men in recent years. He also served as head coach of the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred between 2022-23 and has further experience coaching in the Indian Premier League, Pakistan Super League and Bangladesh Premier League.”
In order to join England coaching setup, Dawson will step down as Glamorgan head coach.
"It's a decision I haven't made lightly, and an opportunity I couldn't pass up," he said.
ECB's Director of Cricket, Rob Key has welcomed Dawson who had also applied for the head coach role.
"Our gain is Glamorgan's loss. To go back into county cricket, where often you're not at the most-resourced club in the world, to do what Richard's done has been brilliant," Key said.
Sarah will continue to be a part of Brendon McCullum’s coaching staff. Of late, they have added Kevin Pietersen to the setup which has already paid dividends. His experience will come in handy in the tri-series in Pakistan starting later this month.
England’s Test coaching staff: Stephen Fleming (head), Richard Dawson, Marcus Trescothick, James Foster, Eric Simons.
England’s white-ball coaching staff: Brendon McCullum (head), Sarah Taylor, Jeetan Patel, Tim Southee, Kevin Pietersen (specialist mentor).
What’s next for England?
England will head to Pakistan for an ODI tri-series featuring Sri Lanka whom they had recently defeated. Then, they will tour Australia for three ODIs and five T20Is. The Test action will begin in December as Root-led side tour South Africa. The tour will mark the beginning of Fleming's tenure as head coach. England will play a three-ODI series in South Africa as well before Melbourne Cricket Ground's 150th anniversary Test. England will have plenty of action in 2027 leading up to the ODI World Cup 2027 on South Africa soil.
Huge update on Buttler
England's veteran wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler has undergone successful surgery on his left hamstring which he injured during the ODI series against Sri Lanka last month. Buttler took to Instagram and posted a photo of himself post-surgery showing thumbs up.
"Succesful [sic] surgery and on the road to recovery. Feeling more motivated than ever!" wrote Buttler.
The wicketkeeper-batter is set for a long layoff. He has already been ruled out of the ODI tri-series in Pakistan. He will face a race against time to regain fitness before Australia ODI and T20I series. He may find himself getting back into the action on South Africa tour next year in January.
In his absence, England have the services of Cox who scored a half-century at no.5 against Sri Lanka in the ODI series decider.
England’s ODI squad for Pakistan ODI tri-series
Harry Brook (c), Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Tom Banton, James Coles, Jordan Cox, Mason Crane, Henry Crocombe, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Josh Tongue.
In Archer’s absence on Pakistan tour, Crocombe may get to make his ODI debut. The series will also see the return of leg-spinner Mason Crane whose last appearance in England colours was eight years ago.