England wicket-keeper batsman Jonny Bairstow has been dropped from England’s central contract for Test cricket, which was announced today. Bairstow who is England’s first-choice opener in both ODIs and T20Is, had last played a Test match in December last year against South Africa. He is currently plying his trade in IPL 2020 with Sunrisers Hyderabad. He has already scored 119 runs in 3 matches - the most for SRH. Young batsmen Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope and Dom Sibley were all awarded central contracts for the 2020-21 test season, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in a statement.
The trio were among 12 players handed test contracts, which ensures that they will have their salaries paid in full by the ECB, and are first time recipients after all three scored their maiden centuries in the longest format in the last 12 months.“In light of the impact of Covid-19 on the finances of the game, the Team England Player Partnership, on behalf of the players, and the ECB are currently finalising the levels of player remuneration for the next 12 months,” the ECB said.“A further statement will be made once these discussions have concluded.”The ECB said that test players will continue to be rewarded significantly higher pay compared to white ball players. Dom Bess, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan and Jack Leach were all given increment contracts, with Saqib Mahmood, Ollie Stone and Craig Overton retaining their pace bowling development deals.
