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Ben Stokes signs one-year ECB central contract: Report
Follow UsHarry Brook, Joe Root and Mark Wood are the only three players who have agreed to a three-year central contract, which came into effect from October 2023 onwards
England Test captain Ben Stokes has signed just a one-year deal with the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB), according to a report on ESPNCricinfo. Stokes has had the central contract with the board for nine years now. According to the same report all the players who were offered a contract have signed, while some like Stokes, agreed to shorter deals.
Harry Brook, Joe Root and Mark Wood are the only three players who have agreed to a three-year central contract. Overall, 18 players have agreed to multi-year deals.
Stokes has potentially decided to play the waiting game, given that the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA) and the ECB is up for renewal next year as it will line up with the new cycle of broadcast rights.
Stokes' services were secured by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for INR 16.25 crore ahead of the India Premier League (IPL) 2023 and, as a result, has a sense of financial security. With players set to earn more than before through the IPLT20 and the SA20, the ECB has locked in players for multiple years as opposed to their usual year-on-year deals.
While Stokes played his cards close to his chest when quizzed if he would play ODIs after the World Cup, he said, "I want to play as much cricket as I possibly can for England.
"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's 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."
The contracts have come into effect from October 1, 2023.
Jason Roy, who was released from an incremental contract to play in the Major League Cricket (MLC), is one of the major absentees, further indicating that his international career might be over. While Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Dan Lawrence, Phil Salt and David Willey were also overlooked.
Fast bowlers Matthew Fisher, Saqib Mahmood and the uncapped John Turner have been awarded development contracts, which implies that the ECB will provide them salaries over and above what their county teams provide. They replace Craig and Jamie Overton and Olly Stone from the category.
ECB central contracts
Three years: Harry Brook, Joe Root, Mark Wood
Two years: Rehan 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: Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley
Development contracts: Matthew Fisher, Saqib Mahmood, John Turner