Ben Stokes signals 2027 Ashes readiness by signing new two-year central contract

Ben Stokes has signalled his desire to play in the 2027 Ashes at home after signing a new two-year central contract with England.

Aged 34, and having suffered hamstring and shoulder injuries in the past 12 months, there was a school of thought that this winter’s Ashes — less than three weeks away — could be the Test captain’s swansong.

But as the only Test specialist among the 14 players handed two-year deals on Tuesday — his last white-ball cap came at the 2023 Cricket World Cup — Stokes and England are clearly eyeing the home summer against Australia in 2027, when he will have just turned 36.

There is also a 50-over World Cup in southern Africa in late 2027 and England have thus far been coy on whether Stokes is part of their plans. Joe Root very much is, however, and, six months older than Stokes, he has also signed a two-year deal that continues his stellar career.

The deal for Stokes in particular aligns with that of Brendon McCullum, the head coach having extended his contract to the end of the 2027 World Cup when he took on the white-ball teams at the start of this year. Much may hinge on results this winter, however, with the traditional bellwether away Ashes series followed by a T20 World Cup in February.

Stokes aside, the two-year contract list reflects England’s desire to tie down multi-format cricketers — not least those with a supposedly high market value on the T20 circuit. Jofra Archer and Jacob Bethell are among them, as is Will Jacks after recently returning to the Test squad.

One-year contracts for Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley chiefly relate to their status as one-format internationals. Although Pope’s deal, compared to two years for Bethell, does come before a decision over who will bat at No 3 when the Ashes gets underway in Perth on 21 November.

Among these are Adil Rashid and Jos Buttler, despite being 37 and 35 respectively. While Rashid is still delivering in both white-ball formats, Buttler has struggled to make an impact in 50-over cricket these past two years and has already started to branch out into a media career.

Five players — Sonny Baker, Liam Dawson, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton and Luke Wood — earn their first full central contracts, while Josh Hull, Eddie Jack, Tom Lawes, and Mitchell Stanley have development deals that see their wages split between the counties and the national setup.

The recent retirement of Chris Woakes from international cricket means his name drops off the list from last year, likewise Jonny Bairstow, Jack Leach, Reece Topley and Olly Stone after falling out of favour.