Cricket Dec 07, 2025

Jacob Bethell rewarded with two-year England central contract as Jonny Bairstow and Jack Leach miss out

👤
By Admin
Sports Journalist
Jacob Bethell rewarded with two-year England central contract as Jonny Bairstow and Jack Leach miss out

Jacob Bethell has been rewarded with a two-year central contract with England.

The 22-year-old, who was previously on a development deal, is among 30 players given central contracts after his impressive breakthrough at international level, including becoming England men's youngest captain for the T20 series against Ireland in September.

Rob Key, the managing director of England men's cricket, said: "This year's central contract group reflects the depth and strength of talent we have across England men's cricket."

Fast bowler Jofra Archer has also had his deal extended from a one-year contract to a two-year contract following his return to action from long-term injuries, but Jonny Bairstow and Jack Leach missed out.

Bethell made his senior England debut in a T20 match against Australia in September 2024 and was subsequently named in the Test squad for the tour of New Zealand, where he made a quick-fire half-century.

Prior to captaining England to two wins over Ireland, the Warwickshire star scored his maiden professional century in a one-day international against South Africa.

Bethell is one of 14 men given two-year contracts, with all those being players who represent England in more than one format.

Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley, who only play in Tests, are among those on one-year contracts, with Sonny Baker, Liam Dawson, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton and Luke Wood the newly-contracted players in this category.

Josh Hull, Eddie Jack, Tom Lawes and Mitchell Stanley are the four players on development contracts.

Key added: "We have awarded two-year deals to our multi-format players so we can manage their workloads responsibly and give them the stability they need to perform across formats.

"We have also secured a number of white-ball players on longer agreements to help us plan effectively around the growing franchise calendar and ensure England remains their priority.

"This structure allows us to support our players properly while maintaining strong squads across all formats as much as possible."

England Two-Year Central Contracts (30 September 2027)
Jofra Archer (Sussex)
Gus Atkinson (Surrey)
Jacob Bethell (Warwickshire)
Harry Brook (Yorkshire)
Jos Buttler (Lancashire)
Brydon Carse (Durham)
Sam Curran (Surrey)
Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire)
Will Jacks (Surrey)
Adil Rashid (Yorkshire)
Joe Root (Yorkshire)
Jamie Smith (Surrey)
Ben Stokes (Durham)
Josh Tongue (Nottinghamshire)

England One-Year Central Contracts (30 September 2026)
Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire)
Sonny Baker (Hampshire)*
Shoaib Bashir (Somerset)
Zak Crawley (Kent)
Liam Dawson (Hampshire)*
Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire)*
Jamie Overton (Surrey)*
Ollie Pope (Surrey)
Matthew Potts (Durham)
Phil Salt (Lancashire)
Luke Wood (Lancashire)*
Mark Wood (Durham)

*Denotes newly centrally contracted player for 2025

England Development Contracts
Josh Hull (Leicestershire)
Eddie Jack (Hampshire)
Tom Lawes (Surrey)
Mitchell Stanley (Lancashire)

Tags:

cricket news id:13463670

Share this article

Related Posts

T20 World Cup: South Africa hammer India by 76 runs as tournament hosts' T20 World Cup win streak is snapped

T20 World Cup: South Africa hammer India by 76 runs as tournament hosts' T20 World Cup win streak is snapped

India suffered their first loss in 13 T20 World Cup games after a disappointing 76-run drubbing to South Africa in their opening game of the Super 8s...

Men's T20 World Cup 2026 fixtures and results: England, India, Pakistan, South Africa, West Indies and more

Men's T20 World Cup 2026 fixtures and results: England, India, Pakistan, South Africa, West Indies and more

Results and fixtures for the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup, which is live in full on Your Site between February 7 and March 8.All times UK and IrelandSatur...

Italy cricket: Senior official suspended and investigated after sexual assault allegation

Italy cricket: Senior official suspended and investigated after sexual assault allegation

A senior official in Italy's cricket federation has been investigated and suspended over a sexual assault allegation.Federazione Cricket Italiana (FCR...

T20 World Cup: West Indies score record 254 runs and thrash Zimbabwe by 107 as Musekiwa drops twice

T20 World Cup: West Indies score record 254 runs and thrash Zimbabwe by 107 as Musekiwa drops twice

West Indies posted the second highest total in T20 World Cup history and thrashed Zimbabwe by 107 runs in the Super Eights on Monday.  West Indies fin...

T20 World Cup: England start Super 8s campaign with victory as Sri Lanka implode chasing 147 in Pallekele

T20 World Cup: England start Super 8s campaign with victory as Sri Lanka implode chasing 147 in Pallekele

England fought back with the ball following a limp effort with the bat as they began their T20 World Cup Super 8s campaign with a 51-run victory over...

T20 World Cup: West Indies score record 254 runs and thrash Zimbabwe by 107 as Musekiwa drops twice

T20 World Cup: West Indies score record 254 runs and thrash Zimbabwe by 107 as Musekiwa drops twice

West Indies posted the second highest total in T20 World Cup history and thrashed Zimbabwe by 107 runs in the Super Eights on Monday.  West Indies fin...