London, Dec 13 (IANS): Mahika Gaur and Lauren Filer have been given full central contracts as the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced the updated England Women's central contracts on Friday. Of the 17 players awarded full contracts, seven have secured two-year deals, including Heather Knight, Sophie Ecclestone, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Danni Wyatt-Hodge. The remaining 10 players, including Tammy Beaumont, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Gaur and Filer have been offered one-year contracts.

Additionally, three England development contracts have been awarded to Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Issy Wong and Bess Heath. MacDonald-Gay made her ODI and T20I debuts for England against Ireland earlier this year.

Managing Director of England Women’s Cricket, Clare Connor said: “As ever, we have awarded central contracts to the players we feel will play a significant role for England in the foreseeable future. We are delighted that Mahika Gaur and Lauren Filer have transitioned to full contracts, having been part of our group over the past year.

“Ryana MacDonald-Gay has had an outstanding year, and the development contract affords her the opportunity to continue to push her claim for selection. We look forward to working with all three players on development contracts and their Counties to ensure they continue their development," Connor said.

"We have another significant period of cricket ahead and we believe this group of players have the skills to be successful in all conditions and formats which will be essential as we look forward to a two-year period that includes the Women’s Ashes in early 2025, multiple bilateral series, the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in India, and a home ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in the summer of 2026.

"This is another landmark year in terms of increased remuneration for England Women. We have been able to make another significant increase in the value of central contracts on the back of last year’s equalisation of men’s and women’s international match fees across all formats. We continue to work positively with the England Women’s Player Partnership (EWPP) and the PCA and are grateful for both their support and challenge in these matters,” Connor added.

List of England women's central contracts:

Two-year central contracts: Lauren Bell, Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Amy Jones, Heather Knight, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt-Hodge

One-year central contracts: Tammy Beaumont, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Sophia Dunkley, Lauren Filer, Mahika Gaur, Danielle Gibson, Sarah Glenn, Freya Kemp

Skills/development contracts: Bess Heath, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Issy Wong