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Sport

Ben Stokes faces ECB clearance row over summer franchise deals

The Guardian reports the ECB is unlikely to grant Ben Stokes a no-objection certificate for next summer's MLC and PSL while he remains registered with Durham.

By Tom Ellery · · 1 min read

Ben Stokes raises his bat during the 2019 Ashes (file photo)
Photo: Ben Sutherland / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Ben Stokes is heading for a fresh confrontation with the England and Wales Cricket Board, which is unlikely to grant him a no-objection certificate (NOC) to play in overseas franchise competitions next summer, The Guardian has reported.

The former England captain, 35, has held discussions with franchises in America’s Major League Cricket (MLC) and the Pakistan Super League (PSL) about joining them next season, but the ECB is reluctant to issue the NOC required while he remains registered with Durham, according to the exclusive by Matt Hughes.

Stokes’s central contract is due to be cancelled at the end of September following his retirement from international cricket in June, but the ECB retains influence through NOCs. Under regulations updated in November 2024, it can refuse clearance for tournaments that clash with the domestic season, with an exception made only for the IPL.

Durham are sympathetic to Stokes’s position: the club have discussed offering him short-term contracts at the beginning and end of the County Championship so he would effectively be a free agent during the MLC window. The shortest permitted contract length under ECB regulations is 21 days.

Stokes is also set to miss the IPL, having not registered for the 2025 mega-auction because of his England commitments, which makes him ineligible until 2028. He has signed for Adelaide Strikers for this winter’s Big Bash and could yet play the latter stages of South Africa’s SA20 in January, for which he has not yet applied for an NOC.

Sources

More on this topic: all Sport stories

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