England set to name a record list of central contracts after Stokes and Mark Wood retire

[Scholes]

England are expected to announce their longest ever list of centrally contracted cricketers next week, according to The Telegraph, syndicated on Yahoo Sports. Around eight new names are expected. The changes follow the international retirements of Ben Stokes and Mark Wood. Luke Wood and Zak Crawley are expected to lose their deals

Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox and Dan Lawrence are set for their first central contracts. Ollie Robinson is expected to return to the list. Sam Cook and Matt Fisher are tipped to step up to full deals. Henry Crocombe, who is moving from Sussex to Surrey, is also expected to be included

Development deals are growing too, from four to nine. Names include James Coles, Mason Crane, Liam Patterson-White, Ben McKinney and Matthew Revis. That is a clear sign the ECB wants to invest in the next generation. Development contracts give young players support without the full commitment

Contract lengths are expected to vary. Joe Root, Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell are expected to get two year deals, while Ben Duckett and Jamie Smith are set for one year deals. Top players earn more than £1 million a year. The Telegraph notes that for full contracts the ECB pays the player rather than their county

Jonathan Trott now runs the England Lions, who tour the Caribbean, South Africa and Sri Lanka this winter. The big change is losing Stokes, whose leadership defined England's Test team for years. Crawley losing his deal will spark debate, as he has had plenty of chances at the top of the order. Gay, Cox and Lawrence all have a chance to stake a claim

Is Crawley losing his contract the right call? And who should replace Stokes as Test captain?

Stokes Retirement Paves Way Record 145943704sports.yahoo.com