ECB to offer central contracts to record 39 England players after Ben Stokes and Mark Wood retire

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is expected to offer central contracts to a record 39 players next week. The list will include 30 full contracts and nine development deals, the largest number the ECB has offered in a single cycle.

The expansion follows the retirements of Ben Stokes and Mark Wood, which have freed up room in the contract budget, while Zak Crawley and Luke Wood are expected to lose their deals.

According to Telegraph Sport, eight new names are set to join the full central contract list. Under the ECB's agreement with the Team England Player Partnership (TEPP), the allocated contract budget must be spent on player deals and cannot be redirected elsewhere. The retirements of Stokes and Wood have therefore created space for the board to bring in a wider group of players rather than reduce overall spending.

Which players are expected to receive full central contracts?

Sussex fast bowler Henry Crocombe, who has earned a place in England's ODI squad for the tour of Pakistan, is among the eight new names expected to join the full contract list. Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox and Dan Lawrence are also set to receive their first central contracts.

Fast bowler Ollie Robinson is expected to return to the list after a period away, while seamers Sam Cook and Matt Fisher are in line for full deals. Ollie Pope, Shoaib Bashir and Rehan Ahmed are expected to retain their contracts.

The value of each deal varies depending on a player's role and format. Leading multi-format players can earn retainers worth more than £1 million a year, while contracts for some white-ball squad members are worth around £150,000. The ECB is also expected to offer fewer multi-year contracts this time. Last year, more than half of the full deals covered two years, but longer agreements are now likely to be reserved for key fast bowlers and a small group of batters, including Joe Root, Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell.

How will the development contracts work and who is in line?

The ECB is set to increase its development contracts from four last year to nine this year. Under this arrangement, counties continue to pay players' basic salaries while the ECB provides an additional payment, giving the national team greater control over their workloads and schedules.

Sussex all-rounder James Coles, Glamorgan's Mason Crane and Nottinghamshire's Liam Patterson-White are expected to receive development deals. Coles and Crane are also expected to join England's tour of Pakistan, while Patterson-White is being considered for a possible Test role this winter. Durham opener Ben McKinney and Yorkshire all-rounder Matthew Revis are also expected to feature on the development list. Somerset wicketkeeper-batter Thomas Rew could receive a deal as well, despite missing the second half of the domestic season through injury.

Players on development contracts remain free to pursue franchise opportunities, but the ECB gains more influence over their schedules and can prioritise Lions assignments when it believes overseas experience will better prepare a player for international duties. England's Lions programme, which operates under head coach Jonathan Trott, is scheduled to tour the Caribbean, South Africa and Sri Lanka this winter. Those tours also provide 50-over cricket, which is limited in the domestic system, giving emerging players valuable experience in conditions they may encounter at international level.

Probable ECB full central contract list

Batters: Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Emilio Gay, Phil Salt, Jordan Cox, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith, Ollie Pope and Tom Banton.

All-rounders: Will Jacks, Sam Curran, Rehan Ahmed, Jamie Overton and Liam Dawson.

Bowlers: Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue, Brydon Carse, Sonny Baker, Sam Cook, Matt Fisher, Matthew Potts, Henry Crocombe, Saqib Mahmood, Adil Rashid and Shoaib Bashir.