Daily Times

LONDON: England all-rounder Sam Curran has been awarded a first central contract after his stellar display in the 4-1 Test series win over India, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Friday. Curran scored 272 runs and claimed 11 wickets to be adjudged man of the series as Joe Root’s side routed the top-ranked Test team in the world earlier this month. There are no opening batsmen among the 10 players awarded 12-month central contracts for tests following the struggles of Keaton Jennings in the India series and Alastair Cook’s retirement. “Surrey’s Sam Curran receives a test contract for the first time,” the ECB said in a statement here “Jos Buttler and Adil Rashid join Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes as players awarded contracts covering both test and white-ball cricket.” England next play five one-dayers and a Twenty20 International in Sri Lanka before the three-test series gets underway on Nov. 6 at Galle. They then travel to West Indies early next year before hosting Australia next summer in England.

England central contracts:

Tests: Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Sam Curran (Surrey), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire).

ODI-T20: Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Liam Plunkett (Surrey), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Ben Stokes (Durham), David Willey (Yorkshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham).

Published in Daily Times, September 29^th 2018.