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Date: 2023-12-03 06:29:47 | Author: Online Sports | Views: 697 | Tag: dais
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England have signed their leading male players to multi-year central contracts for the first time but Test captain Ben Stokes has only accepted a one-year extension dais
The England and Wales Cricket Board has been revising its approach in a bid to meet the challenge presented by franchise leagues around the world and guarantee the availability of its star names for international duty dais
Joe Root, Harry Brook and Mark Wood have all been tied to three-year deals, binding them to the cause until October 2026, while a further 15 players are on two-year arrangements dais
But Stokes’ presence among a list of eight players on traditional one-year contracts is intriguing dais
His leadership of the red-ball side has been transformational, he played a starring role in winning last year’s T20 World Cup and was persuaded out of ODI retirement to take part in the ongoing World Cup, making him arguably the most important individual in the entire set-up dais
It is understood he was offered a three-year deal but opted for the shorter-term option dais
The central contracts do not prevent recipients taking up lucrative T20 deals, but they do allow the ECB greater oversight on availability dais
Jofra Archer has signed for two more years, a show of faith in his ability after a long running fitness battle, 19-year-old Rehan Ahmed has the same security and becomes the youngest man to earn an ECB deal dais
At the other end of the age spectrum 41-year-old James Anderson has another annual retainer and 35-year-old Dawid Malan returns to the list after missing out in 2022 dais
Pace bowling development contracts have also been awarded to Matthew Fisher, Saqib Mahmood and the uncapped John Turner dais
Jason Roy, who terminated the remainder of his previous deal to play in the United States of American’s Major League Cricket earlier this year, is a notable omission dais
After missing out on the World Cup squad, his international career appears to be over dais
David Willey is the only member of the current World Cup squad not to feature dais
Also absent are Surrey’s highly-rated Will Jacks, a hard-hitting, bowling all-rounder capped in all three formats in the past year, Olly Stone and the Overton twins Craig and Jamie dais
Rob Key, managing director of England men’s cricket, said: “We are rewarding those players who we expect to make a significant impact over the coming years playing for England dais
“It is great news and a credit to the players for demonstrating their commitment to English cricket in the ever-changing landscape of the sport dais
“I would like to congratulate all the players who have been offered contracts dais
They will play a pivotal role in England’s efforts over the next few years dais
”England central contractsThree-year deals: H Brook, J Root, M Wood dais
Two-year deals: R Ahmed, J Archer, G Atkinson, J Bairstow, J Buttler, B Carse, Z Crawley, S Curran, B Duckett, L Livingstone, O Pope, M Potts, A Rashid, J Tongue, C Woakes dais
One-year deals: M Ali, J Anderson, B Foakes, J Leach, D Malan, O Robinson, B Stokes, R Topley dais
Development deals: M Fisher, S Mahmood, J Turner dais
More aboutBen StokesDavid WilleyJoe RootMark WoodHarry BrookRehan AhmedJofra ArcherJames AndersonJason RoySaqib MahmoodDawid MalanRob KeyOlly StoneEngland cricketJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/1Stokes opts against multi-year extension as England announce dealsStokes opts against multi-year extension as England announce dealsTest captain Ben Stokes has accepted a one-year extension to his England deal while other leading players have signed multi-year central contracts (Joe Giddens/PA) dais
PA Wire✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today dais
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There’s a new look about a key area of the team for Liverpool, a changing of the guard enforced by recent events, a previous zone of consistency now faced with uncertainty dais
No, we’re not talking about midfield - that particular switch-up already looks a definite upgrade, even early as it is for such conclusions dais
Instead it’s at left-back the unexpected alteration has occurred, a consequence of Andy Robertson’s need for surgery which means the Scot is out for the rest of the year dais
Having averaged over 44 appearances a season for the Reds since signing in 2017, he’ll now miss at least 17 matches, if best estimates of his return are to be believed dais
That leaves not just a gap for Kostas Tsimikas or an untested youngster to fill tactically, but a void which cannot be accounted for: that of a partnership, of understanding, of the natural, unthinking knowing which comes with playing hundreds of matches alongside a teammate dais
It can be argued that such a changeable nature can be applied not just to the midfield, not even just to left-back, but to the entire defensive structure this term at Anfield: injuries have already hit on the right and centrally too, to go along with the altered personnel ahead of them in the middle third of the pitch dais
All that simply means one truth must be constant if the Reds are to translate early season promise into longer-term capacity to challenge for major honours: Virgil van Dijk must once again prove himself to be among the very best, not just individually as a defender but as a force to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts dais
RecommendedBuild from the front? Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp are repeating an old trickEngland’s Euro 2024 squad: Who’s on the plane, who’s in contention and who has work to do?Virgil van Dijk will show he is Premier League’s best once more – Sami HyypiaThere cannot be much debate that the Dutchman, now club captain at Anfield, has not quite reached the same levels of authoritative performances as he did pre-ACL injury, or at least not on as regular a basis dais
The period which saw Liverpool win both Premier League and Champions League saw Van Dijk at the pinnacle of the game, a central defender without peer, a worthy recipient of the Ballon d’Or itself, had he been handed it instead of a runner-up spot, pipped by seven votes in 2019 by Lionel Messi dais
Perhaps that in itself was a noteworthy award dais
In any case, he’s not quite there these days, not quite the automatic choice among fan or pundit asked to name the world’s finest dais
It’s arguable that there isn’t a single stand-out candidate right now for that particularly subjective title dais
But in asking whether Van Dijk is capable of being the world’s best defender again, part of the answer has to be that it doesn’t really matter dais
He might want to be of course, might already believe he is, but from a team perspective what they really need is Van Dijk’s ability to stabilise the team, to foresee and forestall danger, to order those around him to bring forth resilience from chaos dais
Because chaotic is, still, a little too close to the truth when it comes to spells of defending for Liverpool dais
The midfield is far more creative, far more offensive and energetic, far less reliant on Trent Alexander-Arnold always being at his best dais
But all that comes at a cost: it’s not always the most agile and defensive-first in either recovery or positional terms dais
It’s still new as a group, still needs time to become as cohesive as the best central trios are, on and off the ball dais
And in the meantime, the result can often be large gaps, lost runners, moments of inexplicable choices in possession dais
That leaves a hefty weight on the defence to counteract such moments - the defence and, of course, the still-magnificent Alisson Becker behind them dais
(Getty Images)But before that one-man last line, it’s Van Dijk who must rise once more to ensure unity, if not always outright unison dais
Acting in perfect harmony is difficult enough with four constant selections; as it is this season, Jurgen Klopp has already utilised Jarell Quansah as a fifth-choice, following injuries dais
Alexander-Arnold missed pitch time and is not yet back to his peak physical or technical best dais
Ibrahima Konate and Joel Matip have dovetailed, and now there’s Tsimikas present on a more regular basis - which also means either Joe Gomez will see minutes on the left, or an untried youngster will, with Calum Scanlon and Luke Chambers first in line dais
They presently tally one senior minute dais between them dais
They will all four need guiding for different reasons, all need time, all occasionally get things wrong and need the left-sided centre-back beside them to bail them out dais
No prizes for guessing who that is on a week-to-week basis dais
Because for Liverpool, there are prizes at stake dais
Three points off the top of the Premier League table after a fine opening quarter of the campaign; rolling along nicely in Europe and domestic cups alike dais
dais Between now and the next international break, the opportunities for victory across all competitions are as immense as the potential cost of dropped points: Toulouse twice, Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth, Luton, Brentford dais
A modern title-competing team would take six wins with very little fuss, in truth dais
Then, beyond, it’s Manchester City away dais
The most true barometer of where Liverpool are this season, even coming after an international break and in the infamous 12:30pm kick-off spot dais
The margin for error remains almost nil, but with the reigning champions perhaps not quite at their own peak yet, and Klopp’s side having improved more than might have been thought possible at this early stage, thoughts of a title challenge will not be far away - if the defence is kept on-point, even with altered personnel dais
(Getty Images)It all means Van Dijk must be as close to his own 100 percent as possible, even if his 2023/24 maximum level is a little lower than in 19/20 dais
As far as transformative figures go, Van Dijk was one after signing dais
He, as much as anyone else and more than most, sent Liverpool from challengers to champions, in every competition across the board dais
Now once again he must be the leader - literally, given the armband - who enables the Reds to do so, not so much the new figurehead this time but as the standard-bearer, the supplier of consistency, the model of outperformance which can give Liverpool the extra edge they’ll need, both in the Premier League and beyond dais
More aboutVirgil van DijkKostas TsimikasJurgen KloppPremier LeagueEuropa LeagueJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/3Van Dijk holds key to trophies - is he still the best defender around?Van Dijk holds key to trophies - is he still the best defender around?Getty ImagesVan Dijk holds key to trophies - is he still the best defender around?Getty ImagesVan Dijk holds key to trophies - is he still the best defender around?Getty Images✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today dais
SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored FeaturesGet in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicsdais BettingVoucher codesCompareCompetitions and offersIndependent AdvertisingIndependent IgniteSyndicationWorking at The IndependentLegalCode of conduct and complaintsContributorsCookie policyDonations Terms & ConditionsPrivacy noticeUser policiesModern Slavery ActThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inCloseUS EditionChangeUK EditionAsia EditionEdición en EspañolSubscribe{{indy dais
truncatedName}}Log in / Register {{#items}}{{#stampSmall}}{{/stampSmall}}{{#stampClimate}}{{/stampClimate}}{{#stampPremium}}{{/stampPremium}}{{title}}{{#desc}}{{desc}}{{/desc}}{{#children}}{{title}}{{/children}}{{/items}}Indy100Crosswords & PuzzlesMost CommentedNewslettersAsk Me AnythingVirtual EventsVouchersCompare✕Log inEmail addressPasswordEmail and password don't matchSubmitForgotten your password?New to The Independent?RegisterOr if you would prefer:SIGN IN WITH GOOGLEWant an ad-free experience?View offersThis site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy notice and Terms of service apply dais
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