London, September 23

England fast bowler Mark Wood has been awarded a central contract following his impressive performances against New Zealand and Australia this year.

The 25-year-old took 19 wickets in six Test matches and bowled Australia’s Nathan Lyon at Trent Bridge to seal England’s Ashes victory. One-day and Twenty20 captain Eoin Morgan was also added to the nine players who were already on central contracts.

“We congratulate Mark Wood on winning a central contract for the first time,” England cricket director Andrew Strauss said in an England and Wales Cricket Board statement on Wednesday. “This award reflects his excellent performances for England this summer and our expectation that he will have a role to play in all three formats of the international game over the next 12 months.”

Strauss added: “Eoin Morgan’s award reflects his status as captain of our limited overs teams and the wider importance we place on white-ball cricket as we prepare for a busy period of T20 and one-day International cricket over the next 12 months including the World Twenty20 tournament in India next year.”

Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Steven Finn, Eoin Morgan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Mark Wood are other centrally-contracted players. A further eight players — Jonny Bairstow, Gary Ballance, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Chris Woakes and James Taylor — have been also awarded contracts.