England split cricket coaching setups and hand out record 39 central contracts

Robinson, Duckett and Smith get one-year deals Eric Simons hired as Test fast-bowling coach Rob Key believes he can now “map out the next two years” for the England men’s teams, having handed out a record 39 central contracts and unveiled new split coaching set-ups under Stephen Fleming and Brendon McCullum that he hopes will produce homegrown candidates for the top roles in future.

The retirement of Ben Stokes mid-summer , plus Zak Crawley being dropped, has allowed Key to stretch the pot of money for player contracts further this year.

Some 30 main deals have been issued – up from 26 last year - while nine players have been handed development contracts that top up their county pay.

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