THREE Hampshire Cricket women's players have been awarded central contracts by the England & Wales Cricket Board.

Included in the ECB’s updated England Women’s Central Contract list are Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier and Freya Kemp.

All three players were included in England's recent T20 World Cup squad in the UAE, where Bouchier finished as England’s second-leading run-scorer with 107 runs.

Kemp has recently been awarded her maiden Test call-up for England’s tour of South Africa, alongside Bell and Bouchier, with the trio also included in England’s ODI squad.

The trio have also played for Southern Brave in The Hundred, with Bell and Bouchier debuting in 2021, and Kemp in 2022, and were part of the team that won the competition in 2023.

Bell has been handed a two-year England contract while Bouchier and Kemp are included in the one-year list.

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 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.”

In total, 17 players have been awarded full contracts with seven players given two-year contracts and 10 players receiving one-year contracts.

England Women: Two-year central contracts

Lauren Bell (Hampshire)
Charlie Dean (Somerset)
Sophie Ecclestone (Lancashire)
Amy Jones (The Blaze)
Heather Knight (Somerset)
Nat Sciver-Brunt (The Blaze)
Danni Wyatt-Hodge (Surrey)

England Women: One-year central contracts

Tammy Beaumont (The Blaze)
Maia Bouchier (Hampshire)
Alice Capsey (Surrey)
Kate Cross (Lancashire)
Sophia Dunkley (Surrey)
Lauren Filer (Durham)
Mahika Gaur (Lancashire)
Danielle Gibson (Somerset)
Sarah Glenn (The Blaze)
Freya Kemp (Hampshire)

England Women: Skills and development contracts

Bess Heath (Durham)
Ryana MacDonald-Gay (Surrey)
Issy Wong (Warwickshire)