By 23:59 GMT on 1 November 2026 Ben Stokes made no statement that he is available for England again; The Guardian's Ben Stokes page has nothing since August, and BBC Sport cricket news has none.
The market resolves on a direct, attributable first-person statement by Stokes (press conference, ECB release, or his own channels, reported by a whitelisted outlet) that he is available for England selection again, in unconditional terms, by 23:59 GMT on 1 November 2026. Hedged or open-ended remarks and statements by coaches, selectors or teammates about his availability resolve NO. If that source has not published in time, BBC Sport and The Guardian settle it.
Three of five England stars who said they were done came back. Each time, England asked them to. When no one asked, the player stayed away. We looked at England cricket's star players since 1977 who said they were finished with England, and found five clear cases. Ian Botham is left out, because his famous comebacks came after a ban and after an injury, and he never said he had retired.