Ben Stokes scored an unbeaten century to guide Durham to a five-wicket win over Derbyshire Falcons in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup at the County Ground, Derby.
The former England captain made 108 not out from 123 balls in his first match since retiring from international cricket, steering his side to their target of 257 despite carrying a leg injury for much of the innings.
Durham reached 257 for 5 with five balls remaining, chasing down Derbyshire’s total of 256 for 9.
Stokes Battles Injury to Anchor the Chase
Durham slipped to 24 for 2 inside nine overs after Ben Aitchison removed both Graham Clark and Alex Lees. Stokes walked in and faced 28 balls before hitting his first boundary. He then added 74 runs with Will Rhodes, a partnership that ended when Rhodes was dismissed playing across the line to Jack Morley in the 26th over.
Stokes brought up his half-century with a boundary off Nick Potts before pulling up in discomfort and needing treatment on his left leg. He continued to bat through the pain, striking two sixes off Shoaib Bashir, while Aitchison struck twice more, bowling Colin Ackermann and having Ollie Robinson caught behind.
Stokes reached his hundred off 116 balls and finished the match alongside captain Kasey Aldridge, who remained not out on 23. Stokes also bowled nine overs during Derbyshire’s innings, taking no wickets but conceding just 38 runs.
Andersson Century Sets Up Derbyshire Total
Derbyshire were sent in to bat first after winning the toss and built their innings around a century from Martin Andersson. He scored 112 from 118 balls, striking ten fours and a six. Andersson added 112 runs for the second wicket with Brooke Guest, who made 48 before offering a return catch to George Drissell in the 28th over.
Wayne Madsen then put on 55 with Andersson before holing out to Luke Robinson, triggering a collapse in which Derbyshire lost three wickets for six runs. Ross Whiteley was caught in the deep, and Anuj Dal was caught at short midwicket, leaving the innings at 187 for 5.
Andersson fell in the 46th over as Derbyshire lost three wickets in that over alone. Ben Aitchison struck the second six of the innings to help push the total past 250, and Derbyshire finished on 256 for 9 in their fifty overs.
Luke Robinson took 3 for 44 for Derbyshire, while Shafiqullah Ghafari picked up two wickets.
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Large Crowd Turns Out for Stokes’ Return
The match drew a crowd of 1,300 at Derby, several hundred more than Derbyshire would typically expect for a weekday One-Day Cup fixture. Spectators applauded Stokes when he came on to bowl after eight overs, shortly after Derbyshire had lost Harry Came to a full-length delivery from Luke Robinson.
Stokes nearly struck with his first delivery, beating Andersson’s outside edge, and conceded only 13 runs from his first five overs. He returned for a second spell of three overs that cost 19 runs, being driven down the ground twice by Andersson.
Aitchison finished with figures of 3 for 31 with the ball and later contributed 19 runs with the bat, including a run out at the death, as Derbyshire pushed their total beyond 250. Durham collected four points from the win, while Derbyshire finished with none.
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