The international careers of Monty Panesar and Steve Harmison are at the crossroads after both were overlooked by the ECB for a central contract. Panesar is now rated behind Adil Rashid, who received an incremental contract for 2009-10, while Graeme Onions and Tim Bresnan were favoured ahead of Harmison on the 18-man list.
The omission of Panesar from the 18-man list is short of surprising, given Rashid's solid returns for Yorkshire and the England one-day teams this year and Panesar's own declining fortunes. Panesar, who plays for Northamptonshire, has claimed just 14 wickets at 85.00 in the County Championship this season, and was largely ineffective in his sole Ashes outing at Sophia Gardens.
Harmison, though, can feel hard done by. His 46 wickets at 19.91 have been instrumental in Durham's surge to the championship crown this season, and his performances against the Australians at Headingley and The Oval were spirited. Reports earlier in the season suggested Harmison was considering retiring from international cricket, and it remains to be see what impact, if any, his omission from England's central contract list will have on that decision.
"I am sure he is disappointed not to have one but Steve could still play a role for us in our stock of fast bowlers," said England's team director Andy Flower. "He could go to South Africa with the Test team, and play a very significant role. He has talked about retirement recently and that is a decision only he can make. When I spoke to him he was still quite keen to play but still had not made a decison. I would love him to carry on.
"Central contracts don't decide selection - performances do. I would like him to be available for England. He's still a very fine fast bowler and he's got a lot to offer. There's no reason why he cannot be a permanent fixture in our bowling unit."
Panesar and Harmison were joined by Samit Patel, Tim Ambrose and the retired Michael Vaughan in losing their contracts for 2009-10, while Andrew Flintoff received an incremental deal as he embarks on a limited-overs career. Onions, Matt Prior and Graeme Swann were awarded full 12-month contracts for the first time, and Rashid and Jonathan Trott were among those to secure incremental deals.
"Central contracts are designed to reward players who perform well consistently for England and all three have made a very significant contribution to the team's recent success in regaining the Ashes and beating West Indies at home in both Test and one-day series," said Geoff Miller, the national selector. "Following his retirement from Test cricket, Andrew Flintoff is no longer eligible for a 12-month central contract. The decision to award an incremental contract to Andrew reflects our view that he will still have an important role to play in our one-day side going forward and we wish him well with his rehabilitation from injury. As we saw in this summer's Ashes Test series, he remains a world-class talent.
"Likewise, the award of incremental contracts to Tim Bresnan, Adil Rashid and Jonathan Trott for the first time is in recognition of the excellent start they have all made to their international careers and their potential to develop still further as cricketers over the next 12 months."
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