Ben Stokes has turned down the chance to sign a multi-year contract for ECB and signed one year due to the sport’s rapidly shifting landscape.
Ben Stokes turned down ECB’s multi-year contract
The specialist batter Ben Stokes signed a one-year contract while Harry Brook, Joe Root, and Mark Wood have all signed three-year deals. He was absent from the list of 18 players who have signed the first batch of multi-year ECB central contracts.
ECB has been offering only one-year contracts, but with players earning potential in franchise leagues is higher after the launch of ILT20 and SA20 in South Africa.
Stokes has been under contract with ECB for the last nine years while he was signed for IPL franchise for INR 16.25 crores on last year auction.
He commented on his decision saying, “Stokes spoke about “the landscape of cricket changing” when asked if he had considered whether he would play ODIs beyond the ongoing World Cup. “I want to play as much cricket as I possibly can for England,” he said. “That’s where it is for me. I love representing the badge and I want to do that as long as I possibly can and play as many games as I possibly can.
“We’ll just see how things work out in terms of whether I do play [ODIs] after this. There are obviously a few things to go into that: new MoUs coming up and all that sort of stuff… we’ll just see. I want to play as much cricket as I can for England until I can’t anymore.”
ECB contracts are based on the performances in the preceding year and the players featuring in both red and white ball cricket in the future.
“The ECB has worked closely with the Professional Cricketers’ Association and Team England Player Partnership on behalf of the players to reach an outcome for all parties,” the board said.
Wood signed the contract for three years and his deal with Dubai Capitals signed in August hints that he will be leading the England side for the upcoming test tour in India after World Cup 2023.
Another 15 players have signed two-year contracts while senior players like James Anderson, Moeen Ali, and Dawid Malan have signed contracts for one year alongside Stokes.
“We are rewarding those players who we expect to make a significant impact over the coming years playing for England,” Rob Key, England’s managing director, said. “It is great news and a credit to the players for demonstrating their commitment to English cricket in the ever-changing landscape of the sport,” said the board
Players signed ECB central contracts, 2023-24
Three-year contractHarry Brook, Joe Root, Mark Wood
Two-year contractRehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Liam Livingstone, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes
One-year contractMoeen Ali, James Anderson, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley
Development Contracts
