Root Awarded England Central Contract

London: Yorkshire and England batsman Joe Root was the new addition when the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced their 11 centrally contracted players for 2013/14 on Tuesday.

Root, 22, featured throughout England's recent 3-0 home Ashes series win and scored a Test-best 180 in his side's crushing 347-run win over Australia in the second match of the series at Lord's in July.

Now an England regular across all three formats, he replaced Middlesex batsman Eoin Morgan as a centrally-contracted player.

The timing of Tuesday's announcement was significant, coming as it did a day before England are due to fly out to Australia for a return Ashes series starting next month.

There had been concerns that protracted talks would not be concluded by the time the players boarded the plane and would be a source of squad unrest.

Instead the make-up of the current deals will now run until 2019 -- although individual contracts will still last for 12 months to take account of form and fitness.

The other players to be awarded central contracts were James Anderson, Ian Bell, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad (ODI & T20 captain), Alastair Cook (Test captain), Steven Finn, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Graeme Swann and Jonathan Trott.

England will head 'Down Under' bidding to win a fourth successive Ashes series -- something they last achieved in the 19th Century -- after successes at home (2009 and 2013) either side of a 3-1 win in Australia in 2010/11.