Central contracts in Test cricket: A model of best practice?

Abstract

Across the last two decades, management of international cricket players has changed substantially, with the main Test-playing nations using central contracts to guide their team selection. Increased management control over player workload has been a key focus of this. This paper aims to analyse selection in relation to performance for eight Test-playing nations in 1135 matches over 30 years (1985–2015), particularly in relation to the introduction of central contracts. The results demonstrated a relationship between selection stability (i.e. changes made) and performance (overall results and win ratio). The improvement was more pronounced immediately following the introduction of a contract system, as the competitive advantage appears to be at its highest in the two years following their introduction. The data presented argue that the implementation of central contracts as a best-practice model has been a beneficial addition to nations’ performance in Test matches. Despite this, team managers, coaches and selectors should focus their work on developing an organisational culture where the elite environment has long-term stability as its focus. This is particularly pertinent, as selection uncertainty can be a de-stabilising factor, as suggested in this paper and in previous research.