The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have announced 17 full England Women’s Central Contracts and four Skills contracts for 2025/26.
New contracts for ten players
Ten cricketers have got new one-year contracts, while seven others are in the second year of their current terms. Em Arlott and Emma Lamb got their first Skills Contracts, while Linsey Smith earned her first full Central Contract.
Clare Connor, managing director of England Women, said: “The awarding of these contracts reflects our confidence in this group of players with our collective focus firmly on winning the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup on home soil next summer.
“Linsey Smith, Emma Lamb and Em Arlott have all made important contributions for England across the last year and these contracts are both a reward for what they have achieved and an opportunity to develop their skills further.”
Extended existing contracts
Lauren Bell (Hampshire), Charlie Dean (Somerset), Sophie Ecclestone (Lancashire), Heather Knight (Somerset), Amy Jones (The Blaze), Nat Sciver-Brunt (The Blaze), Danni Wyatt-Hodge (Surrey)
New one-year contracts
Tammy Beaumont (The Blaze), Maia Bouchier (Hampshire), Alice Capsey (Surrey), Sophia Dunkley (Surrey), Lauren Filer (Durham), Mahika Gaur (Lancashire), Danielle Gibson (Somerset), Sarah Glenn (Yorkshire), Freya Kemp (Hampshire), Linsey Smith (Hampshire)
New Skills Contracts
Em Arlott (Warwickshire), Emma Lamb (Lancashire), Ryana Macdonald-Gay (Surrey), Issy Wong (Warwickshire)
Kate Cross misses out
One notable omission from the contracts list was Kate Cross, who had also been left out of the World Cup squad. Speaking on the Cricket With Balls podcast, Cross had informed that she had been alerted of the same.
“Kate Cross misses out on a Central Contract after years of extraordinary service to England Women’s cricket. The door to selection is never closed on any domestic cricketer,” added Connor. “Consistency in scoring runs and taking wickets in county cricket will always put players in a strong position to be picked in England squads.”
What is a Skills contract?
These are broadly analogous to men's development contracts, and are intended to bridge the gap between county contracts and full Central Contracts. They give England some control over workload management and training, and are given to players who it is felt could feature for England over the next 12 months.
