Stokes hits 95 for Durham while England struggle

Rothesay County Championship, Division Two, Banks Homes Riverside (day two) Northamptonshire 450: Vasconcelos 187; Raine 3-63 Durham 183-3: Stokes 95 (118), Rhodes 58*; Conway 2-23, Sanderson 2-64 Match scorecard Ben Stokes made 95 for Durham against Northamptonshire as England slipped towards defeat by New Zealand at The Oval. The England captain, absent from the second Test having been made unavailable pending an investigation into an incident in a London nightclub, was bowled five runs short of a century by seamer Harry Conway just after tea at Chester-le-Street. It would have been Stokes' first century in first-class cricket since hitting 141 against India in the fourth Test in July 2025, which was his first in Tests since August 2022. His 118-ball knock, which featured 18 fours, was still a welcome return to form for the all-rounder with the bat. Since Stokes' ton against India at Old Trafford, he had scored only 350 runs in nine first-class matches at an average of 25, prior to facing Northants. Batting at number five, Stokes came to the middle with Durham 30-3 on day two, in reply to their opponents' 450 all out. The 35-year-old put on a 153-run fourth-wicket partnership with Will Rhodes. Stokes was dismissed just after stand-in captain Joe Root and Harry Brook took England past 100-3, chasing an unlikely 463 to beat New Zealand in the second Test. …