ENG vs SL: Ben Stokes Keeps All Options Open As He Refuses To Sign Three-Year Deal With ECB - Reports
Published - 24 Oct 2023, 07:23 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:21 AM
Ben Stokes has cast doubt on his participation in the next Ashes series by rejecting a multi-year deal from the ECB. As per The Telegraph, Ben Stokes was offered a three-year central contract, but he has only signed on for a year, leaving questions about his international future.
Ben Stokes transformed the fortunes of the Test team after assuming the captaincy role. Stokes led the team to victory in 12 out of 18 Tests during his tenure as a full-time captain. They leveled the Ashes 2023 series, recovering from a 0-2 deficit after the first two games.
Ashes Is Important For England And Australia – Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes expressed his desire to captain England in their quest to regain the Ashes in 2025-26, believing they have a better chance of winning in Australia compared to previous attempts.
“Obviously how this series has gone and how close we were it does make you think when we go to Australia do we have a better chance than the last few times we’ve been there,” said Stokes, as quoted by The Telegraph.
“The Ashes is such an important series for English and Australian cricket, and it would be nice to say I’ve won it twice. There’s obviously a lot of cricket that’s played around the Ashes as well, but we’ll just see when 2025 comes around.”
Ben Stokes is maintaining flexibility to evaluate the cricket landscape in the upcoming year. The 32-year-old batter is considering the possibility of signing multi-team contracts with franchises like the Chennai Super Kings, which participates in various global leagues.
The ECB Announce Multi-Year Central Contracts For Players
England Three-Year Central Contracts: Harry Brook, Joe Root, Mark Wood
England Two-Year Central Contracts: Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jonathan Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Liam Livingstone, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Josh Tongue (from 1 November), Chris Woakes
England One-Year Central Contracts: Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley
England Development Contracts: Matthew Fisher, Saqib Mahmood, John Turner
Also read: ENG vs SL: Ben Stokes Takes Single-Year Deal As ECB Announces Central Contracts List
