Liam Livingstone And Ben Foakes Earn Full ECB Contracts, But Alex Lees And Jason Roy Miss Out

Liam Livingstone’s status as a centrepiece of England’s new-look white-ball team has been acknowledged with the award of his first England central contract, following the ECB’s announcement of a list of 30 names for the 2022-23 season, covering all three formats of the game and including 18 lucrative full-year contracts.

Liam Livingstone is thought to be an increasingly important part of the white-ball teams, and Foakes, who has emerged as England’s first-choice Test keeper this year, have never before received full contracts. Despite a difficult year, Zak Crawley has a full contract.

Additionally, there are first central contracts—albeit incremental ones—for Reece Topley, Matthew Potts, and Harry Brook.

However, Alex Lees, the opening batsman who has appeared in England’s 10 most recent Test matches, and Rory Burns, who won a full contract last year, are not bound by any kind of contract, and David Malan and Jason Roy are downgraded from full contracts to incremental contracts. While Eoin Morgan has retired, other players who had new contracts last year include Dom Bess, Chris Jordan, and Tom Curran.

There have been 30 players offered Central Contracts in total: 18 England annual central contracts, 6 England increment contracts, and 6 England pace bowling development contracts.

Liam Livingstone is currently recovering from an ankle injury:

The 29-year-old Liam Livingstone had a relatively quiet season in 2022, scoring just one half-century—against the Netherlands—in 16 innings of white-ball play. He is currently recovering from an ankle injury. But Liam Livingstone’s powerful batting, exemplified by his 42-ball century against Pakistan in 2021, combined with his ability to spin the ball both ways make him a priceless asset to a team that is still coming together after the June retirement of Eoin Morgan.

This is especially true as they prepare to defend their 50-over World Cup title in India in one year.

Jason Roy, who was a key component of the 2019 victory, had his status downgraded to an incremental deal after a season-long struggle with form, and Dawid Malan, who is currently in Australia preparing for the T20 World Cup, also lost his full contract after being left out of England’s Test plans since last winter’s Ashes defeat, are further signs of the team’s evolution.

Also Read: ICC T20 World Cup 2022: “I’m Out Of The Race” – Mitchell Marsh