Crocked stars net England contracts
Vaughan has had to endure a lengthy spell on the sidelines
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Wednesday, 20, Sep 2006 05:10
Michael Vaughan and Simon Jones have both been named on a list of 13 players awarded central contracts by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), despite knee injuries preventing them from appearing at all during the summer.
Neither of the players are in contention for the upcoming Ashes due to the long-term nature of their injuries, but the ECB says it was keen to show its "support and faith" for injured players who remain an integral part of future plans.
Spin bowler Monty Panesar and Alastair Cook are the two newcomers among the group of contracted players, while wicket keeper Geraint Jones is the only man to miss out from last year's list.
David Graveney, chairman of selectors, said that Panesar and Cook had earned their 12-month contracts thanks to "impressive" performances against Sri Lanka and Pakistan on home soil this summer, as well as the earlier tour in India.
"This is the largest number of England 12-month central contracts awarded thus far and reflects the excellent progress made by younger players such as Alastair Cook and Monty Panesar," he said.
Explaining away the absence of Geraint Jones from the list, Graveney said that "intense competition" for the wicket keeper's gloves meant that no contract was awarded in that position.
"The selectors can, of course, award summer contracts to individual players from next April if we feel that performances on overseas tours merit this and I am sure that both Chris Read and Geraint Jones will be competing hard to demonstrate their value to the team this winter," he added.
England central contract players
Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Ashley Giles, Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Simon Jones, Kevin Pietersen, Monty Panesar, Andrew Strauss, Marcus Trescothick and Michael Vaughan