When will Ben Stokes play cricket again? Text messages reveal the first clue

Durham head coach Ryan Campbell has revealed he has exchanged text messages with Ben Stokes following the all-rounder's retirement from international cricket.

Stokes stood down as England Test captain and called time on his international career at the end of the third Test defeat to New Zealand last month.

He admitted he had held doubts over the past "six to 12 months" over whether to continue playing international cricket, but did indicate he would carry on playing for his county side Durham and explore potential white-ball franchise opportunities.

Stokes does not have a contract to play in The Hundred, having opted not to enter this season's auction. He previously played for the Northern Superchargers in the competition between 2021 and 2024.

The 35-year-old made a rare County Championship appearance for Durham last month, when he was left out of the England squad for the second Test against New Zealand over the curfew-related incident involving team-mate Gus Atkinson.

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He struck 95 from 118 balls with the bat and took a wicket in the first innings against Northamptonshire, and told BBC's Test Match Special that "there wasn't a moment when I didn't [love]" playing in the match.

Stokes has not yet made his return to cricket following his international retirement, and is not part of Durham's T20 Blast squad to face Leicestershire on Thursday.

Their Blast campaign concludes on Sunday with an away fixture at Lancashire, and they realistically need to win all three of their remaining matches to have a chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals.

Speaking to BBC Radio Newcastle, Durham head coach Campbell said he was hopeful that Stokes would play a part in this summer's One-Day Cup, and revealed he had spoken to the all-rounder via text in the days following his retirement.

"Since then [his announcement], he's sent me a couple of texts just to say, 'Look, I'm going to have some time off. I'm going on holiday with the family. I'll let you know what this all means sooner rather than later'," the Australian coach stated.

"He was scheduled to play in our One-Day Cup and, from the sounds of it, it could be a bit of One-Day Cup, it could be a lot of Championship cricket. And, yeah, I think we're going to see a bit of Ben up at Durham."

Stokes visited Durham's home ground, Chester-le-Street, on Sunday to watch their two-run defeat to Nottinghamshire in the T20 Blast.

Durham will still have England representation despite Stokes' retirement, with opener Emilio Gay having been picked for all three Tests against New Zealand.

And fast bowler Brydon Carse, who played all five Tests during the winter's 4-1 Ashes defeat to Australia, is working his way back to fitness after suffering a hand injury in April and could make his return in the T20 Blast this week.

When is the One-Day Cup?

The One-Day Cup runs gets underway on July 21, with Durham taking on Derbyshire as part of the first round of fixtures.

With The Hundred starting on the same day, any players signed up for that competition will be unavailable to feature in the One-Day Cup for their counties unless their franchises release them to play.

It means there will be a number of opportunities for younger players to play 50-over cricket - although the nature of the Hundred auction means there is a disparity between the amount of senior players each county will have to choose from.

Six Durham men's players - bowlers Nathan Sowter, Matthew Potts, Brydon Carse, Ben Raine and Callum Parkinson, and opening batter Ben McKinney - have all been picked up by Hundred franchises, meaning Stokes could be spearheading an inexperienced Durham bowling attack if he does decide to play 50-over cricket this summer.