England players are reportedly hoping that their new central contracts will be signed before they leave for a pre-Ashes training camp at the end of this week.
Both the Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had expected to conclude the deals' talks when the Ashes tour party was announced last month, although both the parties had put down the delay to detail rather than any major disagreements.
According to The Guardian, it would be a major relief to the ECB to have the issue resolved before the buildup for the return Ashes series, rather than ask players to undertake a potential repeat of the infamously gruelling boot camp that preceded the last tour of Australia when they are technically out of contract.
The first of England's three warm-up matches, against a Western Australian XI team at the WACA, begins on October 31, with the first Test starting in Brisbane three weeks later, the report added.