Ben Stokes is poised to make his first appearance in The Hundred in three years this summer. The ECB has cleared him to participate in the second half of the group stage for the Northern Superchargers, where he will be coached by Andrew Flintoff.
Stokes played two games for the Superchargers during the inaugural season in 2021 but has not participated since becoming England's Test captain. Despite being named in the squad, he chose to rest between Test series, dealing with a chronic knee injury that required surgery following last year's 50-over World Cup.
His last appearance in the competition, at Trent Bridge in July 2021, ended with a severe panic attack, leading to a collapse in his hotel bathroom. This incident, featured in his documentary "Phoenix from the Ashes" with Sam Mendes, led to a prolonged break from cricket.
Stokes will be available for four group-stage games this season, starting with an away match against Birmingham Phoenix on August 6. If the Superchargers qualify, he will also play in the knockout stages. This arrangement means Stokes, one of England's greatest all-rounders, will be under the guidance of Flintoff, who is starting his first role as a head coach. The Hundred begins on July 23, but men's teams will be missing some star players initially due to the overlap with the third Test against the West Indies and the latter stages of Major League Cricket, where many key overseas players have been active.
England’s batters will join The Hundred right after the third Test at Edgbaston, while all-rounders and bowlers from the squad will be available from August 6 for the second half of the group stage. Shoaib Bashir and Mark Wood are not contracted for The Hundred, while Dillon Pennington and Matthew Potts' participation will depend on their involvement in Birmingham.
The ECB is expected to confirm several injury replacements on Thursday. Will Smeed (Phoenix) and Tash Farrant (Oval Invincibles) are set to miss the competition due to hamstring injuries. Riley Meredith (Trent Rockets) and James Neesham (London Spirit) have been signed as short-term covers for Joe Root and Zak Crawley, respectively.
Additionally, Tim Southee will replace Naseem Shah at Phoenix after the PCB denied Shah a No-Objection Certificate, while New Zealand all-rounder Mitchell Santner will fill in for Daniel Sams at Superchargers, who is out with a knee injury.