Ben Foakes and Liam Livingstone are the two new faces offered central contracts by the England and Wales Cricket Board for the next year.
The Surrey wicketkeeper and Lancashire batsman have both been in strong form for the national side this year, with Foakes now first-choice gloveman in the Test team and Livingstone a regular figure in red-ball cricket.
They take the place of Rory Burns, who drops out due to poor form, and Alex Lees, who also loses his central contract.
A further dozen deals – split evenly between increment and pace bowling contracts – have rewarded six other players with their first offers, with Harry Brook, Matthew Potts and Reece Topley all handed the former.
Brydon Carse, Matthew Fisher and Jamie Overton are added to the latter pool, while Zak Crawley keeps his central contract despite a difficult summer.
Jofra Archer also retains his deal despite an injury-struck season, as England look to shape their side ahead of next year's Ashes series on home soil.
"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," said ECB managing director Rob Key.
"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."
Central Contracts: Moeen Ali (Warwickshire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Sam Curran (Surrey), Ben Foakes (Surrey), Jack Leach (Somerset), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham).
Increment Contracts: Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire), Matthew Potts (Durham), Jason Roy (Surrey), Reece Topley (Surrey), David Willey (Northamptonshire).
Pace Bowling Development Contracts: Brydon Carse (Durham), Matthew Fisher (Yorkshire), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Craig Overton (Somerset), Jamie Overton (Surrey), Olly Stone (Nottinghamshire).
Sherfane Rutherford departs St Kitts & Nevis Patriots
Sherfane Rutherford has announced his departure from the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots for the remainder of the 2024 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) due to personal reasons. The Patriots, who have struggled throughout the season, will name a replacement for Rutherford in the coming days as they look to bolster their squad.
Rutherford's exit leaves a significant gap in the Patriots’ lineup, as the all-rounder was a key player for the team. His departure adds to the Patriots’ challenges as they aim to improve their standing in the tournament. With his hard-hitting ability and useful contributions with the ball, the Patriots will be eager to find a capable replacement soon.
Gurbaz, Motie inspire Amazon Warriors to six-wicket victory over Kings
Guyana Amazon Warriors, defending champions of the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL), put in a swaggering performance to claim three wins in three games to sit at the head of the standings after ten games of this year’s tournament.
Their opponents, Saint Lucia Kings, suffered their first loss of the 2024 tournament on what for them was a chastening night at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground in Gros Islet. A thumping six wicket win with 10 overs to spare was a real statement of intent from the Warriors.
Imran Tahir won the toss and elected to insert the Kings. The defending champions put in another impressive performance with the ball, Tahir claiming 3-29 and Player of the Match Gudakesh Motie taking 3-13 as the Kings failed to recover from a PowerPlay that saw them reduced to 43-4.
Some lower order striking from Matthew Forde managed to haul the Kings to three figures exactly but the Warriors made extremely short work of the target.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz lit up the Saint Lucia sky with sixes as he struck 47 runs off just 19 balls that included not a single four but saw seven sixes clear the ropes.
Gurbaz eventually fell with just nine more runs needed for victory, pinned lbw by Noor Ahmad attempting a reverse-sweep that would have brought him a rapid fifty. Noor also bowled Tim Robinson but not before the Warrior’s debutant opener had got the chase off to a breezy start with 33 off 20 deliveries - including a deliciously driven lofted six down the ground.
A fired up Alzarri Joseph had Azam Khan caught at short third and was thrilled with the wicket. Joseph then greeted Shimron Hetmyer with a stare and another short delivery but Hetmyer launched the next ball high and long over mid-on for six and then scampered the winning runs off the next over to have the decisive final say.
It was a day to forget for the Kings but one to savour for the Warriors, Barbados Royals are the only other side that remain unbeaten in this year’s competition.
Australia ease to T20I series sweep of Scotland
Australia overcame a rough start to their innings to ease to a six-wicket victory over Scotland in the teams' third T20I on Saturday, clinching a series sweep at The Grange.
Having been inspired to comprehensive victories by some expert batting from Travis Head and Josh Inglis in the first two matches of the tour, the visitors found themselves dropped to 18-2 as they chased a target of 150.
Scotland had been led by Brandon McMullen's 56 runs off 39 balls as they achieved a respectable figure despite the best efforts of Cameron Green, who finished with figures of 3-35 for the tourists.
It was also McMullen whose terrific diving catch sent Jake Fraser-McGurk walking for a duck before Head (12) swept Brad Currie's fourth-over delivery straight to George Munsey to put Australia in a spot of bother.
However, Green replicated his bowling heroics with the bat, hitting an unbeaten 62 off 39 balls to ensure Scotland's joy was short-lived.
Even the wicket of captain Mitchell Marsh, who dragged on for 31 runs from Jack Jarvis' rasping delivery in the 10th over, could not halt the tourists' momentum, and they got over the line with 23 balls to spare for just one further loss.
Data Debrief: Green shows all-round credentials
Australia's third straight victory in Edinburgh was slightly more testing than their previous two as the top order faltered, but they could count on an exceptional all-round showing from Green.
Having taken three wickets in a T20I for the very first time, he proceeded to also register his best batting performance in the format, beating his previous best of 61 versus India in 2022.
Had Scotland succeeded in setting a more challenging target, Green might have had his eyes on an even more impressive total, having slammed five sixes and two fours.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
