Lees sweating over his Test future after omission from contract list
Alex Lees sweating over his Test future after being left off England’s central contract list but Jofra Archer is included despite not playing a single game in the last two summers
- England have released the latest list of centrally contracted players
- Opener Lees is a notable absentee and will now be concerned about his place
- 29-year-old struggled with England’s new attacking style over the summer
- Selectors are considering replacing Lees with Ben Duckett for tour of Pakistan
- Jofra Archer does receive a contract despite his ongoing injury problems
Alex Lees’ international future is in jeopardy after he was the big absentee from England’s lengthy list of central-contract recipients.
The Durham opener misses out and now faces a nervous wait until England pick their squad next week for the three-Test tour of Pakistan in December to see if he has been jettisoned.
The official reason is that Lees has not yet done enough to cement his place but Sportsmail understands England’s ultra-positive new management were unconvinced by him even in a summer when he tried to play in a far more expansive style.
Alex Lees will be concerned for his Test place after being left off the central contracts list
Jofra Archer is, however, included on the list despite over two years of injury problems
Lees, 29, averaged just 23.84 in his first 10 Tests with a highest score of 67 and England are considering replacing him in Pakistan with Nottinghamshire’s Ben Duckett even though he too did not feature in the contracts list.
Lancashire’s Keaton Jennings, an excellent player of spin, is another opening option under consideration
Duckett made an excellent impression on his return to international cricket in the Twenty20 series in Pakistan and England made a point of telling him during the summer they still saw a red-ball future for him.
Then they called him up as cover for the final Test against South Africa when Jonny Bairstow broke his leg on the golf course.
Ben Duckett, seen playing T20 for England in Pakistan, could replace Lees in the Test side
Keaton Jennings, an adept player of spin, is under consideration for the Pakistan tour
One player England still very much have faith in is Jofra Archer who is awarded a full contract even though he has not played a single game for them in two summers.
The injury problems that have kept Archer out since the tour of India in early 2021 has not lessened England’s belief in him and he is one of 18 players given full contracts worth between £225,000 and £800,000.
It is a reflection of the world-class ability proven all too briefly by Archer in both white and red-ball cricket since he qualified for England in 2019 and the hope that he will have put elbow and back problems behind him in time to play in three one-day internationals in South Africa in late January.
The list no longer specifies what format a player has been picked for and reflects those England expect to feature most in both red and white-ball cricket over the next year.
Archer has struggled with elbow and back injuries since his stunning breakthrough in 2019
But it is perhaps significant that Liam Livingstone, along with Ben Foakes, has been awarded a full-contract for the first time.
Livingstone has become one of the most explosive batters in short-form cricket but Sportsmail understands England are also considering picking him for the Test squad to face Pakistan in December.
Harry Brook, Matthew Potts and Reece Topley all feature on the list of players awarded increment contracts, that pay them per performance, for the first time and Jason Roy and Dawid Malan have had to content themselves with increment deals.
Other bowlers who have encountered injury problems in Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton and Olly Stone have to make do with pace bowling development contracts.
Liam Livingstone has impressed in white ball cricket and could also make the Test team
It could be the last time England pay their players this way, with the ECB considering multi-year contracts in a bid to stave off the advance of the franchises and maintain the primacy of international cricket.
‘I feel we have rewarded those players who have made a significant impact over the previous 12 months and those we expect to be part of England’s plans over the next period,’ said England managing director Rob Key.
‘The international game continues to evolve and we must be mindful that we have to lead the way in player performance across the sport. The aim is to develop world-class players in all three formats as we strive to become the best team in the world.’
The full list
England central contracts – Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Liam Livingstone, Ollie Pope, Adil Rashid, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
Increment contracts – Harry Brook, Dawid Malan, Matthew Potts, Jason Roy, Reece Topley, David Willey.
Pace bowling development contracts – Brydon Carse, Matthew Fisher, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Jamie Overton, Olly Stone.
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