Rob Key has insisted that Ben Stokes’s decision to turn down one of the England & Wales Cricket Board’s inaugural multiyear central contracts does not mean he is not fully committed to representing his country.
England’s Test captain was offered a three-year deal, which would have tied him to the national side for the next Ashes series in Australia in 2025-26 and beyond, but eventually signed on for just one, gambling that he will benefit when he negotiates an extension in 12 months.
