Ben Stokes plots next chapter with Adelaide Strikers after England retirement

Quiet winter after tumultuous summer

Cricket is heading into hibernation for the winter after the usual English summer slog, and Ben Stokes’ playing diary is a lot quieter than previously. For the first time since 2014, there will be no central contract from the England and Wales Cricket Board as he begins the next chapter of his career.

The 35-year-old caused one of the sporting stories of the year when he announced in the middle of a Test decider against New Zealand that he was walking away from the England captaincy and international cricket as a whole.

Durham success and red-ball revival

Initial sanctuary has come at his own county, Durham, where he has been a wholehearted and willing contributor to their Division Two title success. He played all 10 of Durham’s One-Day Cup matches as they reached the semi-finals, and featured in four of their remaining six Championship matches as the side romped to the Division Two title by 47 points, going unbeaten in the process.

Highlights included an unbeaten 108 away to Derbyshire in his first game away from the international spotlight in the 50-over competition in July. In the Championship he hit four half-centuries in 10 innings and averaged 47.88 with the bat.

It was with the ball that the fireworks happened. His rapid burst of 5-17 blew away Derbyshire again last month in a dead rubber at home to Worcestershire in the penultimate game with the title already secured. Stokes produced one of his marathon spells to finish with 6-94 off 31.3 overs – the most wickets and overs of any bowler in the team. His 25 wickets this season came at an average of 20.36.

Durham director of cricket Ryan Campbell, who has spent the last four seasons as head coach, believes Stokes remains keen on county cricket, particularly red-ball.

"Yes, I do, I honestly do," Campbell told BBC Sport. "His love of the game, he talks about his bowling run-up and stuff that he can adapt to county cricket so he can bowl more. The playing, the batting, where he wants to bat, this sort of stuff, he's all-in I would have thought for the next couple of years at least."

"Ben's England through-and-through, but he is Durham through-and-through," Campbell added. "He loves the club. The proudest thing I've ever had in relation to our work was when he said, 'I want to go back and play at Durham because the time there has been so amazing'. That's a big rap for our club and our environment that we've created."

Franchise plans and complications

As England’s Test team start focusing on a Christmas tour to South Africa, Stokes is heading to Australia for Christmas. He has signed to play in the Big Bash for Adelaide Strikers as he makes his debut in the T20 competition.

From there, Stokes has a variety of options as the gates of the franchise world are open to him. A global superstar like him would surely be of interest in India, but he did not take part in the IPL’s mega auction in 2025 due to England commitments.

Overseas players who have previously played in the IPL – as Stokes has done for Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals and Rising Pune Supergiant – must register for the mega-auction that takes place every three years, or miss the subsequent two mini-auctions. As things stand, that makes him ineligible until the 2028 edition.

South Africa’s SA20 begins just before the Big Bash finishes, 17 Jan – 21 Feb 2027, while the Pakistan Super League, which is expected to run concurrently with the IPL in the spring, would love a headliner like Stokes. Major League Cricket in the United States follows mid-June to mid-July, with The Hundred in England in August.

Complications remain around a potential Durham white-ball return. If Stokes wants to play for Durham or signs a contract that includes any white-ball cricket in the T20 Blast or One-Day Cup, he would need a special No-Objection Certificate from the ECB to play in a franchise league that clashes with domestic competitions for which they are contracted. The ECB has previously refused NOCs to former England players who have wanted to pursue freelance T20 careers.

T20 reset

It is worth noting that Stokes has not played a match in the short format of the game since appearing for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred in 2024. His appearances in the One-Day Cup this summer were his first in the 50-over format since the 2023 World Cup.

"Ben will be quite wise with his decisions of where he goes, how long for, how many games he's going to play," Campbell said. "It's going to be a big test for him as he hasn't played T20 cricket for ages – trying to get back into the rhythm of white-ball bowling and batting."

"I hear Adelaide are going to open the batting with him. That's brilliant. That's where he belongs in T20 cricket. Where does he bowl? How are they going to use him? I'm intrigued to see that sort of stuff."