Ben Stokes Sets Eyes On 2027 Ashes As ECB Announces Central Contracts List For 2025-26

ECB Contracts List: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Tuesday (November 4) announced the updated list of England Men's Central Contracts for the 2025-26 season, which featured a total of 30 players, including the Test captain Ben Stokes.

In the new structure, the ECB has awarded 14 two-year central contracts, 12 one-year central contracts, and four development contracts, with deals designed to balance red-ball and white-ball commitments, also keeping an eye on the flexibility for workload management.

Sonny Baker, Liam Dawson, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton and Luke Wood are the new additions in the central contracts list. Moreover, Eddie Jack, Tom Lawes and Mitchell Stanley have been awarded England Development Contracts for the first time, joining Josh Hull in the list.

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The 34-year-old Stokes signed a fresh two-year England contract, providing the clearest indication yet that he intends to play in the 2027 Ashes series on home soil. The veteran has been sidelined with hamstring and shoulder issues this year and has not played a limited-overs international since November 2023.

Brendon McCullum, England's head coach, is under contract until the end of 2027, and Stokes' new deal suggests that the coach-captain combination could continue for another two years. England have won 25 and lost 14 Tests under McCullum-Stokes regime, since they took over in June 2022, but are yet to register a series win over a "Big Three" opponent ahead of the imminent Ashes tour to Australia.

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A total of six players were not offered deals after their contracts expired: Jonny Bairstow, Jack Leach, Liam Livingstone, Olly Stone, Reece Topley, and Chris Woakes, who has retired from international cricket.

England’s Two-Year Central Contracts (Till 30th September 2027): Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Ben Stokes, Josh Tongue.

England’s One-Year Central Contracts (Till 30th September 2026): Rehan Ahmed, Sonny Baker, Shoaib Bashir, Zak Crawley, Liam Dawson, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Phil Salt, Mark Wood, Luke Wood.

England Development Contracts: Josh Hull, Eddie Jack, Tom Lawes, Mitchell Stanley.

"This year’s central contract group reflects the depth and strength of talent we have across England Men’s cricket. We have awarded two-year deals to our multi-format players, so we can manage their workloads responsibly and give them the stability they need to perform across formats," Managing Director of England Men’s Cricket, Rob Key, said in the ECB’s official statement.

"We have also secured a number of white-ball players on longer agreements to help us plan effectively around the growing franchise calendar and ensure England remains their priority. This structure allows us to support our players properly while maintaining strong squads across all formats as much as possible,” he added.

Having recently suffered an ODI series defeat, the England team is all set to be in action in the upcoming Ashes 2025-26, which will commence on November 21 at Perth Cricket Stadium, Perth.