Matt Prior & Jonathan Trott lose England central contracts

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Matt Prior and Jonathan TrottImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Prior and Trott had both been England regulars, winning Ashes series in 2009, 2010-11 and 2013

England have announced their list of central contracts for 2014-15 - with Matt Prior, Jonathan Trott and Tim Bresnan all losing their deals.

Moeen Ali, Gary Ballance, Jos Buttler, Chris Jordan, Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes are the new men on the list.

The number of central deals increases from 11 to 12, with the retired Graeme Swann and the discarded Kevin Pietersen also departing.

Five other players have been awarded incremental contracts.

They are limited-overs regulars Ravi Bopara, Alex Hales, Eoin Morgan and James Tredwell, together with paceman Liam Plunkett, who played the first four Tests of this summer before picking up an ankle injury which has kept him out since July.

The new kids on the block

Name

Age

Eng debut

Tests

ODIs

T20s

Moeen Ali

27

Feb 2014

7

5

7

Gary Ballance

24

Sep 2013

8

12

-

Jos Buttler

24

Aug 2011

3

37

37

Chris Jordan

25

Sep 2013

5

14

7

Ben Stokes

23

Aug 2011

6

21

7

Chris Woakes

25

Jan 2011

4

17

6

All-rounder Luke Wright, awarded an incremental deal a year ago, misses out, as do batsmen Michael Carberry and Michael Lumb who qualified for incremental deals over the winter by virtue of appearances made under the points-based system.

Meanwhile, batsman Sam Robson - who has opened with captain Alastair Cook in all seven Tests this summer - has not been handed a deal, suggesting that he may not be an automatic choice when England return to Test cricket in the West Indies in April.

Test and one-day captain Alastair Cook and Twenty20 captain Stuart Broad retain their places on the contracted list, along with James Anderson, Ian Bell, Steven Finn and Joe Root.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Jordan, Stokes and Buttler all made their debuts in one-day cricket before being elevated to the Test side

Moeen, Ballance and Jordan have all made their international debuts within the last year, while Buttler, Stokes and Woakes had played limited-overs cricket for England since 2011 but have only established themselves as Test players in 2014.

Batsman Trott, 33, has not played for England since coming home from the Ashes tour last December with anxiety issues, although he has returned to action for Warwickshire, who must now pick up his salary.

Prior, 32, had been England's first-choice Test keeper for five years before being dropped for the last two Tests in Australia. He returned for the first four Tests of the summer but struggled with the bat, leading him to step down from international duty for the rest of the summer to have Achilles surgery.

Seamer Bresnan, 29, has been named in England squads this summer, but his last appearance came in the West Indies in March.

Departures from the central contract list

Name

Age

Eng debut

Tests

ODIs

T20s

Last game

Tim Bresnan

29

Jun 2006

23

84

34

Mar 2014

Kevin Pietersen

34

Nov 2004

104

136

37

Jan 2014

Matt Prior

32

Dec 2004

79

68

10

Jul 2014

Graeme Swann

35

Jan 2000

60

79

39

Dec 2013

Jonathan Trott

33

Jun 2007

49

68

7

Nov 2013

England & Wales Cricket Board national selector James Whitaker said: "The awarding of contracts enables the selectors and team management to plan for the next 12 months of international cricket.

"We have been hugely encouraged by the rapid development of a host of younger players in the last year and this is reflected in a total of six players being awarded 12-month central contracts for the first time."

That 12-month period will be packed with international cricket, with at least 11 one-day internationals scheduled for England before the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

England then play three Tests in the West Indies before a one-dayer in Ireland and home series against New Zealand and Australia.

England central contracts 2014-15: Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Gary Ballance (Yorkshire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Alastair Cook (Essex), Steven Finn (Middlesex), Chris Jordan (Sussex), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire).

Incremental contracts 2014-15: Ravi Bopara (Essex), Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Liam Plunkett (Yorkshire), James Tredwell (Kent).

England's packed 2014-15 itinerary

Date

Opposition

Tests

ODIs

T20s

Nov-Dec 2014

-

7

-

Jan-Feb 2015

-

4 (plus possible final)

-

Feb-Mar 2015

-

6 (min)

-

Apr-May 2015

3

-

-

May 2015

Ireland (a)

-

1

-

May-Jun 2015

2

5

1

Jul-Sep 2015

5

5

1

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