Essex Cricket can today announce that Essex Men's duo Jordan Cox and Sam Cook have signed Central Contracts with the ECB.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has confirmed the updated Central Contract list and coaching structure for England Men’s international cricket, with Essex represented by Jordan Cox and Sam Cook.
The expanded playing list includes 30 players on Central Contracts, alongside a further nine players on England Development Contracts for 2026/27. The 2025/26 list featured 30 contracted players.
Cook’s inclusion makes the announcement particularly special for Essex Cricket, with the Chelmsford-born seamer earning his first Central Contract after progressing through the Club’s Academy system into the first team and establishing himself on the international stage.
Joe Root* (Yorkshire)
Harry Brook* (Yorkshire)
Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire)
Jofra Archer* (Sussex)
Gus Atkinson* (Surrey)
Sonny Baker* (Hampshire)
Tom Banton (Somerset)
Shoaib Bashir (Derbyshire)
Jacob Bethell* (Warwickshire)
Jos Buttler (Lancashire)
Brydon Carse (Durham)
Sam Cook (Essex)
Jordan Cox* (Essex)
Henry Crocombe* (Sussex/Surrey)
Sam Curran* (Surrey)
Liam Dawson (Hampshire)
Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire)
Emilio Gay (Durham)
Matthew Fisher (Surrey)
Will Jacks* (Surrey)
Dan Lawrence (Surrey)
Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire)
Jamie Overton (Surrey)
Ollie Pope (Surrey)
Matthew Potts (Durham)
Adil Rashid (Yorkshire)
Ollie Robinson (Sussex)
Phil Salt (Lancashire)
Jamie Smith (Surrey)
Josh Tongue* (Nottinghamshire)
* Denotes two-year deal through until 30 September 2028.
James Coles (Sussex)
Mason Crane (Glamorgan)
Josh Hull (Leicestershire)
Eddie Jack (Hampshire)
Ben McKinney (Durham)
Liam Patterson-White (Nottinghamshire)
Thomas Rew (Somerset)
Matthew Revis (Yorkshire)
Mitch Stanley (Lancashire)
In a sign of the growing depth of England Men’s cricket the 39-strong list includes eight players who have agreed Central Contracts, who did not have such a deal for 2025/26, while six players have signed an England Development contract for the first time.
Tom Banton, Sam Cook, Jordan Cox, Henry Crocombe, Emilio Gay, Matt Fisher and former Eagle Dan Lawrence have signed Central Contracts for the first time while Ollie Robinson returns to the list having previously been awarded a Central Contract in 2022 and 2023. Fisher has previously held an England Development Contract (2023) and a Pace Bowling Contract (2022).
Sonny Baker is upgraded to a two-year contract while Cox and Crocombe’s first Central Contracts are also for two years. There are a total of 11 players on two-year contracts.
James Coles, Mason Crane, Ben McKinney, Liam Patterson-White, Thomas Rew and Mattthew Revis have signed their first England Development contracts. Crane earns his contract in the same week he is to join up with an England squad for the first time in over eight years, while Rew, who captained the Young Lions to the ICC Men’s U19s World Cup final earlier this year, is the youngest player on the list aged 18.
The system, which covers both red-ball and white-ball cricket, takes into account the likelihood of players featuring in England teams across formats during the next period, while also recognising performances over the past year.
The National Lead Coaching Structure and coaching staff for the England Men Test and white-ball teams have also been confirmed.
Two newly-created National Lead coaching roles sees Mike Yardy appointed as Elite National Batting Lead, while Richard Dawson has agreed to undertake the Elite National Spin Bowling Lead role. Troy Cooley began as Elite National Pace Bowling Lead earlier this year.
England Men’s Test Head Coach, Stephen Fleming, will be supported by a coaching staff including Dawson, Marcus Trescothick, former Essex Cricket wicket-keeper James Foster, and Eric Simons.
England Men’s white-ball Head Coach, Brendon McCullum’s coaching team will include Sarah Taylor, Jeetan Patel, Tim Southee and Kevin Pietersen in his specialist mentor role.
The coaching staff will be in place from the upcoming tours of South Africa (Test) and Australia (white-ball) respectively.
Everyone at Essex Cricket congratulates Jordan Cox and Sam Cook on being awarded ECB Central Contracts. The recognition is thoroughly deserved, reflecting their consistent performances for the Club across all competitions over the years.
