Ben Stokes’ retirement limited to England, expected to play domestic cricket for Durham

Ben Stokes isn’t ready to leave cricket just yet. Last month, the 35-year-old announced his retirement from all forms of cricket for England but had hinted at continuing to play. Whether that meant featuring in franchise leagues or playing for Durham County Cricket Club, we didn’t know. Well, now we do.

Ben Stokes to play for Durham

Stokes, who has been playing for Durham since 2009, is expected to turn up for his club for some matches in the remainder of the 2026 season. Durham head coach Ryan Campbell has revealed that Stokes informed him about taking a break from the sport after his retirement.

However, once he feels ready to step on the field again, Stokes could play 50-over cricket (One-Day Cup) for the first time since the ODI World Cup 2023. The all-rounder had played one County Championship match during the investigation for breaking the midnight curfew and could feature in the remaining 6 red-ball matches for Durham. How many games will he end up playing? We don’t know that yet.

“Since then (his retirement announcement), he’s sent me a couple of texts just to say, ‘Look, I’m going to have some time off. I’m going on holiday with the family. I’ll let you know what this all means sooner rather than later.’ He was scheduled to play in our One-Day Cup and, from the sounds of it, it could be a bit of One-Day Cup, it could be a lot of Championship cricket. And, yeah, I think we’re going to see a bit of Ben up at Durham,” Campbell told BBC Radio Newcastle.

Franchise cricket next?

Currently, we don’t know whether Stokes will consider playing in England’s premier domestic competition, The Hundred. The all-rounder last featured in the 100-ball tournament in 2024 for the Northern Superchargers (now Sunrisers Leeds) and hasn’t played any franchise cricket since.

If Stokes doesn’t play in The Hundred, he might just look to play elsewhere after the English domestic season ends in September. The 35-year-old will remain a big draw at major leagues like the SA20, the Big Bash League, the Pakistan Super League and the Indian Premier League.

Durham’s remaining fixtures for 2026 season

• T20 Blast – 3 matches excluding knockouts (until July 18)
• One-Day Cup – 8 matches excluding knockouts (July 21 to September 20)
• County Championship – 6 matches (August 20 to September 27)

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