Does England's contracts system need an overhaul?
Centrally-contracted players or free-agents
John Emburey: The central contract system came in to help the coach and selectors manage the players: the idea was they would play less county cricket, which would mean they could be fully rested when Test series came around.But that hasn't necessarily stopped players playing more cricket – Test cricketers still complain they're tired, mentally and physically because of the full international calendar despite the presence of central contracts. And if there's big money available, like there is in the IPL, players still seem willing to fit a few extra games in. You can't really blame them for that either, especially given the huge sumsof money involved.
George Binoy is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo