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

England cricket director Rob Key has issued a record 39 central contracts for the men's teams, up from 26 main deals last year, with nine additional development contracts also handed out. The contracts come alongside new split coaching setups led by Stephen Fleming and Brendon McCullum, with Eric Simons hired as Test fast-bowling coach. Key stated he can now plan ahead for the next two years, with the expanded contract pool partly funded by Ben Stokes' mid-summer retirement and Zak Crawley being dropped.