Archive · 2 Sep 2026
Ben Stokes Set to Open for Adelaide Strikers in BBL
Ben Stokes has joined the Adelaide Strikers for one Big Bash League season.
The team is thinking about using him as an opening batter.
Stokes usually bats in the middle order in T20 cricket, but he has also scored a T20 hundred while opening.
Coach Tim Paine thinks Australian pitches will suit Stokes’s powerful style.
Stokes may also bowl and field for the team.
Paine says Stokes can swing the ball in both directions.
The famous player’s signing has already brought extra attention to the Big Bash League.
The Strikers signed him using a new system that lets teams directly choose overseas players.
Paine likes the flexibility but wants the competition’s rules to be more consistent.
Adelaide Strikers signed Ben Stokes to a one-year contract for the upcoming Big Bash League season.
Coach Tim Paine said Stokes will initially be considered as an opening batter on Australia’s pacey, bouncy pitches.
Stokes has mostly batted in the middle order in T20 cricket, but one of his two T20 hundreds came while opening.
Paine expects Stokes to contribute with powerful batting, swing bowling, athletic fielding and leadership.
Stokes joined under the new direct-signings system, while Paine criticized late changes to the competition’s squad rules.
- Who
- Ben Stokes, Adelaide Strikers coach Tim Paine and the Adelaide Strikers.
- What
- The Strikers signed Stokes to a one-year deal and are considering using him as an opening batter in the Big Bash League.
- When
- The signing was confirmed on Tuesday for the upcoming BBL season.
- Where
- Adelaide, Australia, with Stokes expected to play at the Adelaide Strikers.
- Why
- The Strikers believe Stokes can strengthen their batting, bowling, fielding and leadership while increasing attention on the competition.
Direct Signings Offer Flexibility
Late Rule Changes Created Frustration
Overseas-player recruitment
Direct Signings Offer Flexibility
The new system allows clubs to sign overseas players directly and helped Adelaide secure Stokes.
Late Rule Changes Created Frustration
Tim Paine said clubs had planned their squads under different expectations before learning that the regulations had changed.
Impact on the BBL
Direct Signings Offer Flexibility
Paine believes Stokes’s profile, personality and performances will attract greater attention to the Big Bash League.
Late Rule Changes Created Frustration
Paine called for the competition’s rules to be settled and applied consistently in future seasons.
- Player
- Ben Stokes
- Team
- Adelaide Strikers
- Contract
- One year
- Possible batting role
- Opening batter
- T20 opening record
- 16 of Stokes’s 148 T20 innings have come as an opener
- Other expected contributions
- Swing bowling, athletic fielding and leadership
- Signing system
- New direct-signings system replacing the overseas player draft
- Additional squad plans
- The Strikers are expected to add two more overseas players
