MOEEN Ali has become the first Worcestershire player to be awarded a central contract by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

The all-rounder has been rewarded for impressive performances for his country and is one of six players given deals for the first time.

Moeen, 27, is joined by Gary Ballance, Jos Buttler, Chris Jordan, Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes, who have all figured in Tests this summer and are in contention to play in next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes said: "As a coach, one of your jobs is to produce England players. I don't want to take credit for things.

"All the credit goes to Moeen as he is the one who has put all the work in, he is the one who has got in a very good state of mind for playing cricket and he is the one who is out there batting and bowling.

"It is thoroughly deserved. I am delighted for Worcestershire, I am delighted for him and I am delighted for the dressing room because he is a flagship and someone they want to follow and aspire to achieve the things he has achieved."

The full list of centrally contracted players is: Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Gary Ballance (Yorkshire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Alastair Cook (Essex), Steven Finn (Middlesex), Chirs Jordan (Sussex), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Ben Stokes (Durham) and Chris Woakes (Warwickshire).