Ben Stokes is set to receive a major boost for England cricket after signing a two-year central contract that secures his services until the 2025-2026 Ashes tour.
The England captain pulled off a surprise move last year by signing only a one-year contract despite being offered a multi-year deal by England and Wales Cricket for the first time, with Joe Root, Mark Wood and Harry Brook all signing three-year deals while Ollie Pope and Jofra Archer received two-year contracts.
The ECB are unlikely to offer many long-term contracts this year, having been made to pay the price for costly mistakes made 12 months ago. Jonny Bairstow signed a two-year contract worth £800,000-a-year last October but has not played for England in any format since the T20 World Cup in June and is unlikely to be recalled, so the ECB would be forced to pay more than £1 million in exchange for not playing.
Stokes' commitment to England was never in doubt but he opted to keep his options open given he was preparing for knee surgery 12 months ago. The 33-year-old made a successful return on the tour of India earlier this year and has proven his body can withstand the rigors of Test cricket, despite missing the recent home series against Sri Lanka with a hamstring injury.
Stokes is due to return to lead England in the three Test matches in Pakistan next month and the ECB hope to be able to announce new central team signings before the players return home.
The complexities of negotiating a multi-year deal meant the ECB was unable to finalise the current deal until midway through England's World Cup campaign in India last year, which sources say proved a major setback as Jos Buttler's side struggled to reach the semi-finals and suffered a disastrous campaign.
Stokes' willingness to sign a longer contract is another major boost for the ECB, following last week's announcement that Brendon McCullum had signed a new contract as England Test and white-ball coach until the end of 2027.
The New Zealander will take over running the limited-overs side from January ahead of next month's Champions Trophy in Pakistan and his new contract will see him remain in charge for the Twenty20 World Cup in 2026 and the 50-over version next year, as well as the two Ashes series.
Stokes' new contract is not long-term but it demonstrates his friendship with McCullum and his desire to continue working with him. The pair have revamped England's Test team, winning 19 of 29 matches under their guidance, compared with just one of the 17 matches prior to that. Stokes opted out of this year's IPL and T20 World Cup in time for this summer's Test matches, which remain his priority.
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The ECB may offer extensions to some of the players who have 12 months remaining on their existing deals, such as vice-captain Pope and Archer. Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett and Gus Atkinson also have 12 months left on their contracts but the ECB may not offer them extensions given that they are not in high demand from T20 franchises.
Jamie Smith is certain to sign his first central contract after his impressive performances as a wicketkeeper-batsman this summer, while 6ft 7in fast bowler Josh Hull is also a contender after being selected for the Pakistan tour but may have to settle for a development deal.
Most of the eight players whose one-year contracts are expiring – James Anderson, Moeen Ali and David Malan have retired, while Ben Foakes and Ollie Robinson are out of luck – will not be offered new contracts. Jack Leach and Reece Topley are likely to be offered new one-year deals after Stokes signed a longer term deal.
