On December 16, 2025, Ben Stokes was at Adelaide Oval telling his Test team to “unleash the dog” within them. England were 0-2 down in the Ashes and felt like their captain was carrying the weight of the entire world on his shoulders.
Exactly a year later, Stokes will return to Australia but this time unleashing himself in an Adelaide Strikers jersey as he makes his long-awaited return to the Big Bash League. And he will do so at some point in his career, after his international retirement, playing without seemingly a worry in the world.
The former England captain and all-rounder has officially signed up with the Strikers and will be available for the entire BBL season, starting with the opening match against the Sydney Thunder in Canberra. He will remain with them until the end of the tournament should the Strikers qualify for this summer’s Grand Final scheduled for January 26, 2027.
It is learned that the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) has been working tirelessly for a while to convince Stokes to sign up, ever since he expressed interest in returning to the BBL. Simon Insley, SACA’s general manager of cricket, led these discussions with Stokes
But they had to compete against a few other teams in the league, most notably the Sydney Sixers and Melbourne Renegades, who were also trying to land the 35-year-old into their ranks. According to SACA, it was Stokes’ love for Adelaide Oval and the City of Adelaide that played a huge role in him finally getting the deal. The mystery left-hander is expected to receive his family during his month-and-a-half stay in Adelaide.
“Ben is fully committed to wearing the Forwards blue and being a true South Australian blue player throughout the upcoming BBL season,” a source within SACA said.
Stokes has impressed with both bat and ball for Durham across formats since his shock exit from international cricket during the Trent Bridge Test against New Zealand a few months ago. He averaged 63.60 with the bat in the County Championship and 41.14 in List A cricket.
Stokes last played a BBL game in early 2015 and has not played any T20 cricket since the 2023 IPL where he was part of the Chennai Super Kings. He played a few matches for The Hundred in 2024. He had already hung up his boots from international white-ball cricket by the time he left Test cricket. But his arrival in Australia, apart from the media interest it will generate, will be a huge boost for the strikers and the BBL as a whole.
This is also at a time when there has been ongoing talk about private investment in the Big Bash with attracting big-name foreign players very high on the agenda. Stokes will share the Strikers’ dressing room alongside Australian white-baller Matt Short and a slew of talented homegrown stars such as Jason Sangha, Liam Scott, Henry Thornton and Mackenzie Harvey.
The squad also currently includes Alex Carey, although the Australian wicket-keeper-batsman is unlikely to feature this season based on the summer Test schedule and India’s Test tour, which begins shortly after the New Year’s Test in Sydney. One of the great aspects of Stokes being part of the Adelaide team was that he was coached by Tim Paine, the former Australian Test captain, who he played against in Ashes cricket. Payne was at the helm in 2019 when the England star played his most epic knock at Headingley.
“Ben is one of the greatest players the game has ever seen, a proven match-winner and a competitor who thrives under pressure,” Payne said.
Stokes is said to have signed a contract worth over A$500,000, making him the highest-profile foreign player in the BBL in its 16th edition. Despite this, the strikers are still in negotiations with a couple of other big names who they hope will confirm a link soon.
