Published 17:02 IST, September 20th 2019
England rewards Jofra Archer after Ashes success, here's what he gets
England paceman Jofra Archer has been awarded a central contract for Test and white-ball cricket for the first time after making an impact during the Ashes & WC
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England paceman Jofra Archer has been awarded a central contract for Test and white-ball cricket for the first time after making an impact during the World Cup and the Ashes. Archer, 24, was England's leading wicket-taker in their triumphant World Cup campaign. He then took 22 wickets at an average of 20.27 in four Tests against Australia. His bowling touched speeds in the mid-90-miles-per-hour range in a scintillating debut international summer.
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Jofra Archer reaps Ashes reward
The Barbados-born Archer, who only became England qualified earlier this year, is one of 10 players to receive a Test deal for the 2019/20 season. Another is opener Rory Burns, who cemented his spot at the top of the order with some battling performances in the Ashes. Spin duo Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid have lost their central Test contracts but are in a list of 12, also including Joe Denly, to be handed less lucrative white-ball deals. Moeen was dropped from the World Cup squad towards the end of the group stage before a dismal showing in the Ashes opener. He did not appear for the rest of the series. Rashid was a regular for England in the Test side last year but lost his place during the winter tour of the West Indies and was unused against Australia, although he is a regular in captain Eoin Morgan's white-ball set-up.
Test contracts: J Anderson (Lancashire), J Archer (Sussex), J Bairstow (Yorkshire), S Broad (Nottinghamshire), R Burns (Surrey), J Buttler (Lancashire), S Curran (Surrey), J Root (Yorkshire), B Stokes (Durham), C Woakes (Warwickshire).
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White-ball contracts: M Ali (Worcestershire), J Archer (Sussex), J Bairstow (Yorkshire), J Buttler (Lancashire), J Denly (Kent), E Morgan (Middlesex), A Rashid (Yorkshire), J Root (Yorkshire), J Roy (Surrey), B Stokes (Durham), C Woakes (Warwickshire), M Wood (Durham).
Increment contracts: T Curran (Surrey), J Leach (Somerset).
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The curious case of Jofra Archer
The Barbadian-born English cricketer was snubbed by the Windies cricket and he would have to wait till 2022 to play International cricket for England by completing seven-year residency rule of England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB). But the fortunes of Archer turn around after ECB decided to cut residency requirements from seven years to three. England had asserted that the change in rule had nothing to do with a particular individual and it was only to bring English cricket in line with the rest of the world. But, according to several media reports, the Windies cricket was not happy with the way England amended the rules and also accused them of poaching.
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16:50 IST, September 20th 2019