Seven Surrey players have been named among the 30 awarded central contracts by the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

Gus Atkinson, Sam Curran, Will Jacks and Jamie Smith landed two-year deals, while Jamie Overton and Ollie Pope had their agreements extended by 12 months and Tom Lawes has been awarded a development contract.

All-rounder Curran spent almost a year out of the England side but performances for Surrey in the Vitality Blast and the Hundred, plus other franchise tournaments, saw him regain his spot in the 50-over and T20 squads. Jacks, who played two Tests in 2022, had become increasingly regarded as a white ball specialist but gained a surprise call-up for the Ashes – England looking to regain the urn for the first time since winning 3-2 in 2015 when the series starts later this month – through his mixture of aggressive batting and off-spin.

He will join wicketkeeper-batter Smith and speedster Atkinson – both regarded as multi-format players – plus Pope, who is currently fighting to retain his spot at number three against Jacob Bethell.

Pope, who also covers for Smith behind the stumps, recently lost the vice-captaincy to Harry Brook and the series in Australia may prove pivotal to his career. After 61 Tests, he has scored nine centuries and 16 half-centuries but also experienced some barren trots.

Overton played in the final Test of last summer, against India at the Kia Oval, before declaring that he would concentrate on the shorter forms of the game – an announcement which surprised England – but it has not prevented him from landing his first ECB deal.

Lawes is one of a group of four young bowlers who have gained development contracts.

In contrast, left-arm seamer Reece Topley has lost his ECB deal having not played for England since last November in another injury-hit year.

By Richard Spiller