Cricket-Leach, Malan and Robinson awarded first central contracts under new system

Jack Leach, Dawid Malan and Ollie Robinson all received central contracts for the first time, but Dom Sibley lost his as the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Friday announced a new structure where 20 contracts were awarded on a "single" list.

Jack Leach, Dawid Malan and Ollie Robinson all received central contracts for the first time, but Dom Sibley lost his as the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Friday announced a new structure where 20 contracts were awarded on a "single" list. The new system is a departure from the previous separation of red-ball and white-ball contracts the ECB introduced in 2016.

Batsman Sibley, who was dropped after two tests against India in the summer, lost his contract but fellow batsman Zak Crawley, another to lose his spot in the test side, managed to keep his. The ECB also announced four increment contracts -- for Dom Bess, Tom Curran, Liam Livingstone and Chris Jordan -- and three pace bowling development contracts.

"The new system has been developed working in consultation with the players, Team England Player Partnership (TEPP) and the Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA)," the ECB said in a statement. "The system considers the likelihood of players featuring in England teams across formats in the next 12 months, whilst also recognising performances in the preceding year."

Ashley Giles, managing director for England men's cricket, said: "I would like to thank TEPP and the players for all their constructive input through the process of developing this new system, which I believe is the fairest and most transparent way of rewarding players across all formats."

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