As cricket prepares to go into hibernation for the winter after the usual summer slog, 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.
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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.
Initial sanctuary has come at his own county, Durham, where he has been a wholehearted and willing contributor to their Division Two title success.
But it is a long six months before whites will be seen around English grounds again, and it means one of the greatest all-rounders the game has ever seen and arguably the game’s best player over the last decade is now open to offers.
So what next for Ben Stokes?
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As England’s Test team start focusing on a Christmas tour to South Africa, Stokes is heading to Australia for Christmas.
That’s because 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.
But there are also complications. 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.
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South Africa’s SA 20 begins just before the Big Bash finishes, while the Pakistan Super League, which is expected to run concurrently with the IPL in the spring, would love a headliner like Stokes to bring some stardust and eyeballs to their tournament.
Head into the summer and there is Major League Cricket in the United States. But this is where another complication may arise.
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 (NOC) from the ECB to play in a franchise league that clashes with domestic competitions for which they are contracted.
And the ECB has previously refused NOCs to former England players who have wanted to pursue freelance T20 careers.
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12 Dec 2026 – 26 Jan 2027: Big Bash (Australia)
17 Jan – 21 Feb 2027: SA T20 (South Africa)
14 Mar – 30 May: IPL (India)
Apr – May: PSL (Pakistan)
Mid-June – mid-July: Major League Cricket (USA)
August: The Hundred (England)
And then there is his boyhood club, Durham
It is where Stokes has wholeheartedly thrown himself into away from the England spotlight.
After a family holiday, he returned to play in all 10 of their One-Day Cup games as they reached the semi-finals, before turning out 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.
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There were plenty of highlights, too. He smashed 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 but it was with the ball in hand 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 average of 20.36 and he demonstrated once again that he remains a fearsome and competitive animal when the match is on the line.
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But Durham now need to discuss with Stokes how next summer will look, and it will be one of the first tasks for Ryan Campbell in his new role as director of cricket.
The Australian has spent the last four seasons as head coach and enjoyed having Stokes in the dressing room and part of his team and he believes that the all-rounder is keen to continue playing county cricket and the red-ball stuff in particular.
“Yes, I do, I honestly do,” Campbell told BBC Sport in an interview before his new role was announced.
“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.”
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When Stokes was suspended by the ECB for the second Test in June, it was Durham where he rediscovered his love of the game after the troubles of the Ashes in Australia last winter and the broken curfew post-Lords.
Being in and around the Riverside, singing the Blaydon Races after team victories and helping academy youngsters with practice is something that has not gone unnoticed.
“Ben’s England through-and-through, but he is Durham through-and-through,” said Campbell.
“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.”
But as Stokes contemplates his future, it’s worth pointing out that he has not played a match in the short format of the game since appearing for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred in 2024.
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While his appearances in the One-Day Cup this summer were his first in the 50-over format of white-ball cricket since the 2023 World Cup.
Of course, he has played starring roles in England winning the World Cup final in 2019 and then the World T20 final in 2022, but the last few years saw him focusing primarily on his commitments as England Test captain.
It is going to be a change of pace and Campbell for one is fascinated to see what unfolds.
“Ben will be quite wise with his decisions of where he goes, how long for, how many games he’s going to play,” he 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.
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“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.”
