'It's pretty exciting for him' - Durham coach hints at franchise gigs for Ben Stokes after England retirement

Durham head coach Ryan Campbell has talked about Ben Stokes' future endeavours with the county and the possibility of playing franchise cricket in the coming months. This comes after the former England Test captain returned to professional cricket for Durham after retiring from international cricket.

Campbell stated that Stokes would be available for selection for a host of matches in the One Day Cup and the County Championship. The all-rounder scored an unbeaten hundred on his return to representing his county to secure a win against Derbyshire in the 50-over competition.

"He is now a retired Test superstar who has reported back for duty for Durham so we will basically plot a course that will involve playing in the One-Day Cup and playing as many of the six four-day matches. We're obviously going to keep an eye on him if his loads are going through the roof but he's tough. At this stage he's going to play every game we can," Durham coach Ryan Campbell said to the BBC.

Campbell hinted that Stokes will want to play franchise cricket across the world in 2027. The 54-year-old coach also revealed that the Durham management will try to strike a contract with the now-retired left-handed batter for the coming seasons.

"Going forward, I would have thought that will include next year as well. We'll sit down and for the first time have to work out a contract for him which is something we haven't done before. But, just listening to him, there will be a couple of franchise worlds that he will want to put his toes into and with that, plus our stuff, I reckon it's pretty exciting for him," he added.

Ben Stokes hits unbeaten century for Durham vs Derbyshire

Stokes has not played franchise cricket since turning out for the Northern Superchargers (now Sunrisers Leeds) during The Hundred 2024. He played just three matches before sustaining a hamstring injury. His last outing in the Indian Premier League came a year earlier when he played just twice for the Chennai Super Kings before picking up a knee problem.