#central contracts

[indizombie]

Central contracts are brilliant, but it has now become so essential to the England player that the sharpness goes. A long contract is a cosy contract. To play international sport, above all else - above even freshness and rest - you must have desire. It is not enough to want success. You must need success. If you want it, that’s fine, but you must need it as a player. Hunger is still the most important attribute for any sportsman.

Ian Botham

[dbpnews]

PCB hikes salary of central contract players, Babar Azam joins 'A' category

PCB hikes salary of central contract players, Babar Azam joins ‘A’ category

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has not included senior players like Mohammad Hafeez and Haris Sohail in the central contract for next season while captain Babar Azam has been given a place in the A category. A total of 20 cricketers have been included in the central contract by the PCB. It has also decided to increase the salary of centrally contracted players by 25 percent. 

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[digimakacademy]

भारताचे क्रिकेटपटू आता होणार मालामाल, किती कोटी रुपये मिळणार पाहा… नवी दिल्ली : भारताचे क्रिकेटपटू आता मालामाल होणार असल्याचे दिसत आहे. कारण बीसीसीआय आता आपल्या काही नियमांमध्ये बदल करणार असल्याचे समजते आहे.

[lordsnews]

Natalie Dodd, Jess Kerr Named in List of Centrally Contracted Players for 2020-21

Natalie Dodd, Jess Kerr Named in List of Centrally Contracted Players for 2020-21

Natalie Dodd, Jess Kerr Named in List of Centrally Contracted Players for 2020-21

New Zealand cricketers Natalie Dodd and Jess Kerr have received central contracts for the New Zealand Women’s cricket team. This is the first time that either of these players has been centrally contracted.

Dodd has been playing for New Zealand ever since 2010 and Kerr has been part of the New Zealand Women’s…

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[cricket-blog]

Umar Akmal doing hard training to improve his fitness

Umar Akmal doing hard training to improve his fitness

Umar Akmal has been left out of Pakistan’s centrally contracted players’ list for the new season, capping a disastrous year that saw him fail numerous fitness tests and get involved in a spat with a teammate.

Watch Umar Akmal doing hard training to improve his fitness nowadays

The 27-year-old batsman was dropped from the West Indies tour in April for failing a fitness test and met with the same…

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[gluedeyez-blog]

Batsmen Khawaja, Burns and Voges earn Australia contracts

Batsmen Khawaja, Burns and Voges earn Australia contracts

MELBOURNE: Batsmen Usman Khawaja, Adam Voges and Joe Burns have been rewarded for their strong form over the past 12 months by being awarded central contracts by Cricket Australia on Friday.

The trio became regulars in the side in the last year and have moved onto the centrally contracted list after the retirements of six players following last years' unsuccessful Ashes series in England.

They…

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[unpickingtheseam]

Central Contracts and Wicket Keepers

Craig Kieswetter has been awarded an incremental contract for the coming year, a renewal of his existing agreement which suggests that he is still thought of as the number one wicketkeeper/batsman in one day internationals. Subjective evidence based on the naked eye of the spectator would suggest that he is somewhat fortunate.  

Batting

Kieswetter has a superior one day batting average to Matt Prior 30 to 24 and in T20 - 24 to 21 although in the latter Prior actually has a better strike rate.  Do these stats paint the whole story?

Prior has improved year on year in test cricket as both a wicket keeper and batsman yet in one day cricket he has been treated a bit like a Ramprakash, in and out up and down the order.  He has proved time and again to be the most selfless of batsman, putting his foot to the pedal to the benefit of the team.  He successfully bats high in the order in one day cricket for Sussex.

Kieswetter has been a consistent presence at the top of the order until he was moved down to accommodate Pietersen and then Bell.  Has he delivered?  To me he flatters to deceive unrolling sumptuous cover drives before surrendering tamely to a defensive shot or a lofted drive.  In T20 as well as Prior, Lumb and Wright both have superior strike rates.

They both favour the offside and strive to improve on their legside weaknesses.

Wicket Keeping

Matt Prior is whatever the opposite of a a shadow of his former self is.  The hard handed flapper who first played for England has been replaced by an assured confident and capable stumper who misses very little.  The consistency of the England test side selection has led to fewer misunderstandings with first slip.

Kieswetter is a competent, but unsophisticated stopper.  He doesn't fit the traditional idea of a wicket keeper being tall and somewhat angular. Of late he has been showing off an impressive line in hollywood dives as he anticipates sweeps and reverse sweeps, to date these have been unsuccessful, but he will succeed one day.  They do enhance the overall impression that he is more goalkeeper than wicketkeeper.

Assisting the Captain With DRS the wicket keeper has an important role to play.  England have clearly been better at this in Test cricket than in One day internationals.  This may well be attributable to Strauss position at first slip and unflappable level headedness, Cook is more reliant on the wicketkeeper.  The nature of one day cricket may make it harder for a wicket keeper to be as effective judge, Kieswetter is struggling a bit at the moment.  Prior is a stronger candidate based on the test experience and partnership he has had with Strauss.

Conclusion

It is never an open and shut case, the objectivity of stats on balance gives the one day role to Kieswetter and one can argue that he has not let England down.  On the other hand he has rarely set things alike aside from pleasing 30 run cameos.  He neither bats in one day cricket like a finisher, nor does he he open in T20 with the explosiveness of other international openers.  There are other factors in the equation - does Jonny Bairstow get enough time to work on his keeping to fulfil the role in either format?  Will Pietersen come back into the fold and change the team batting dynamic?

Kieswetter's clueless effort in the aborted nine over slapathon at Old Trafford has only emphasised my view - Prior for me 100 times out of 100.