What changes do you think we'll see for central contracts this year? They want to award more contracts to limited overs specialists, I think, but I'm not sure how they can fit them in with Bairstow and Woakes demanding recognition. Reckon Hales might face the curious combo of being awarded with a central contract as a limited overs player while getting dropped from the test side.
2015-16 Central Contracts:
Moeen Ali (Worcestershire)
James Anderson (Lancashire)
Ian Bell (Warwickshire)
Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire)
Jos Buttler (Lancashire)
Alastair Cook (Essex)
Steven Finn (Middlesex)
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex)
Joe Root (Yorkshire)
Ben Stokes (Durham)
Mark Wood (Durham)
2015-16 Incremental contracts:
Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Gary Ballance (Yorkshire), Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire), Chris Jordan (Sussex), Liam Plunkett (Yorkshire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), James Taylor (Nottinghamshire)
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Predictions:
Ian Bell (Central -> nowt)
Steven Finn/Mark Wood (Central -> incremental)
James Taylor (Incremental -> nowt)
Alex Hales (incremental -> Central)
Johnny Bairstow (incremental -> Central)
Chris Woakes (incremental -> Central)
Jason Roy (nowt -> incremental)
David Willey (nowt -> incremental)
Well if they are giving contracts to the ODI players I hope they call the something different like ODI Contracts so we don't get mixed up with Central Contracts. I think Bell and Buttler will lose theirs and Bairstow and Woakes will get one.
How they did over the contract period
Cook 1269 runs at 55.17 2 100s 7 50s (14 Tests)
Root 1272 runs at 55.30 2 100s 9 50s (14)
Ali 705 runs at 39.16 2 100s 3 50s (14)
Stokes 545 runs at 36.33 1 100 2 50s (9)
Bell 158 runs at 31.50 0 100s 1 50 (3)
Broad 205 runs at 14.64 (14)
Finn 101 runs at 12.62 (9)
Wood 34 runs at 11.33 (2)
Anderson 60 runs at 10.00 (12)
Buttler 34 runs at 8.50 (2)
Morgan (0)
Anderson 50 wickets at 19.24 econ 2.27 s/r 50.8 3/1
Broad 50 wickets at 24.58 econ 2.60 s/r 56.6 1/0
Wood 6 wickets at 28.33 econ 2.70 s/r 62.8
Stokes 20 wickets at 31.65 econ 3.01 s/r 62.9
Finn 23 wickets at 36.34 econ 3.28 s/r 66.4
Ali 32 wickets at 50.46 econ 3.77 s/r 80.1