Bethell handed upgrade, Archer extends ECB central contract till 2026

New Delhi, Dec 4 (IANS) Batter Jacob Bethell, who scored an unbeaten fifty on debut in England’s eight-wicket win over New Zealand at Christchurch, has signed a two-year central contract, running until September 2026.
It follows after Bethell, who made his white-ball debuts in September and got an IPL 2025 contract with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, was awarded a development contract last month.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) added that seamers Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse, who picked ten wickets in Christchurch, and Matthew Potts have all extended their contracts until September 2026.
Archer’s name present on the list of ECB’s contract extensions is notable, considering he hasn’t played Test cricket after February 2021 and made a careful return to white-ball cricket this year for England after a long run-in with elbow and back injuries.
His initial two-year deal was set to expire in October 2025, but the extension means Archer, who earned an IPL 2025 deal with the Rajasthan Royals, is very much in frame to play in England’s Tests against India next year and in the Ashes in Australia.
England Test skipper Ben Stokes has revealed Archer, 29, is beginning to think about his Test cricket comeback, adding that the fast-bowler is looking to play in the side’s one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge starting on May 22.
“Jof is a man of few words, even over WhatsApp. I had one a couple of months ago saying ‘Zimbabwe?’. That shows he is very interested in playing Test cricket for England. The excitement is understandable around Jofra. The best thing is he is back on the field playing.”
“I am sure he thought he might not have the chance to put on an England shirt again – the injuries and surgeries he has gone through could have ended other people’s career – so there is no rushing back.
“He is being handled very well by the ECB and that will certainly continue. There is no doubt he is going so well at the moment it is a case of having to build the body up to handle extra pressure of Test match cricket,” he said to reporters.
Stokes also felt Archer’s return to Tests is a case of him building his body to handle load of bowling in the longer format. “When the decision gets made between him and the people who make those decisions around players, I am sure there will be conversations that he will have to get some different loading.”
“You can come back and play a one-day game and get two or three different spells. But in Test cricket you have to do that over a long period of time and then another day to back it up. There is no doubt he is going so well at the moment, it is a case of he will have to build the body up to handle the extra pressure of a Test match.”
–IANS
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