Sam Curran Bags Test Contract After Impressive Performances Against India

Cricketnext Staff | Updated: September 28, 2018, 8:46 PM IST

Sam Curran's excellent summer with both bat and ball has earned him a Test central contract, England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Friday.

Curran made his debut against Pakistan this year in June but it was his performance against India that brought him in the limelight. He returned 11 wickets in the series and contributed 272 runs with the bat often digging his side out of a hole as England walloped India by a 4-1 margin. The 20-year-old was awarded Man of the Series for his efforts. He has also been named in England's squad for the tour of Sri Lanka which starts next month.

Meanwhile, Jos Buttler and Adil Rashid have been awarded both Test and white-ball contracts after impressive showings across all formats this year. The duo joins the likes of Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes, who have both contracts.

Sam's older brother Tom Curran has been given an incremental contract - offered to a player who is not in the Test setup at the moment but is largely expected to be a part of the England white-ball side. The ECB covers the salaries of all Test specialists and the players with both contracts, while the ones with only a white-ball contract will receive a supplement on top their County pay.

In all, the ECB have awarded 10 Test and 13 white-ball contracts for a period of 12 months starting from October 1.

ECB central contracts for 2018-19:
Test: Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Sam Curran (Surrey), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)

ODI/T20I: Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Liam Plunkett (Surrey), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Ben Stokes (Durham), David Willey (Yorkshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham)

Incremental: Tom Curran (Surrey)