Slimline Stokes makes impression with pair of wickets on red-ball return
To little fanfare, Ben Stokes has slipped out of the shorter formats.His last one-day international was at the 2023 World Cup, his last Twenty20 international helped England win its equivalent a year earlier.His most recent white-ball match of any description came during the Hundred in 2024, a tournament he has since shouldered arms to.Red-ball cricket is the thing that gets the England captain’s juices flowing these days and had he not fractured his cheekbone in the nets back in February, the plan was to be available for Durham from the start of the season.Fair play, given the additional money he could earn by diversifying in his final years.
Belatedly returning against Worcestershire at New Road on Friday, Stokes needed only eight deliveries to make an impact,Not quite who-writes-your-scripts territory at one of Ian Botham’s old haunts but a tidy bit of work all the same, Stokes getting some extra bounce to tickle the edge of Dan Lategan’s backfoot drive,It was the first of two wickets for Stokes in his first outing since the Ashes as Worcestershire scrapped hard to reach 209 for seven on a rain-affected opening day,The second came late when, with a rainbow over the cathedral in the distance, he bowled Adam Hose for 59 with a beauty that shaped to swing away before nipping back in,Under the watchful eye of England’s lead physio, Ben Davies, Stokes sent down 14 overs across three spells and looked sharp with it; the quickest on show, certainly, and even more svelte than usual.
Some players pile on the pounds when sidelined by injury – Stokes prefers to pound away on a treadmill,Notable also was the fact that, in his first County Championship match for Durham in nearly two years, Stokes started out with the new ball,This was in part due to Matthew Potts resting after a heavy workload in the opening rounds and Duanne Olivier not being ready after arriving to replace the injured Kemar Roach,But there is a world in which this is relevant to England as thoughts turn towards the three-Test series against New Zealand in June,Marcus North is expected to be confirmed as the new selector in the coming days – Durham’s director of cricket was not seen at New Road – and one option could be to see whether Stokes is interested in a late-career switch to opening bowler.
There is clearly a vacancy here, given this will be England’s first home summer for 20 years without one of Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad or Chris Woakes to turn to.Hence the early season sounding out of the previously untrusted Ollie Robinson and similar encouragement for Sam Cook after that solitary Test cap last year.Whether Stokes would be entirely suitable or even fancy it full time is another matter.To date he has opened the bowling in two of his 120 Test matches, both times in the subcontinent before the spinners began twirling away.But the 34-year-old was England’s joint-leading wicket-taker in 2025 along with Josh Tongue, picking up 33 at 23 runs apiece.
It felt like he had unlocked a new level while doing so, his pace up and more movement extracted than others,At the same time, the returns with the bat have thinned out a touch,His century against India at Old Trafford last summer was his first for two years, while his tour of Australia ended with only two half-centuries and an average of 18,4,There is also the question of how he intends to approach his batting this summer.
It was here at New Road four years ago that Stokes offered the first glimpse of so-called Bazball by smoking 161 off 88 balls.But during the winter he seemed to turn his back on the whole thing, issuing something of a pointed message to his players by grinding out his runs in a bloody-minded fashion.After time to reflect on this U-turn with Brendon McCullum – the head coach who felt he went too far the other way – it remains to be seen what orders follow.Either way, playing cricket in whites with a red ball is where Stokes wants to be.
Reflections on the Festival of Britain | Letters
Celebrating the legacy of the Festival of Britain 75 years on by considering “how art can bring people together in the darkest times” is a fine sentiment (Editorial, 1 May). But far too many in this country have no opportunity to share in that legacy. We need to recognise that this country is a very different place to that of 75 years ago – it is divided and more diverse. We are now a multicultural nation – but a fractured one.A possible solution to the many racist and prejudiced attitudes we see around us is to have another festival of Britain, but with a very different focus
‘Tisio peint? Or: Do you fancy a pint? | Letters
I was delighted to read Phil Coughlin’s nostalgic account of Spike Milligan’s border-straddling pub in Puckoon (Letters, 1 May).But, here in Wales, we have the real thing in the little village of Llanymynech in Powys, where the border between two nations goes through the Bradford Arms hotel. Sunday drinking was illegal in Wales until 1961, so customers would crowd into the private bar, which, being to the east of the border, was not under Welsh drinking laws. For the rest of the week, most customers were more comfortable in the public bar, on the west side of the border.Nowadays you can drink in whichever bar you like, and no, people will not start speaking Welsh the moment you go in
Colbert on McDonald’s supply chain concerns: ‘Perhaps this will finally show Trump the true cost of war’
Late-night hosts covered the ongoing war in Iran and how the Trump administration is refusing to focus on rising gas prices back in the US.On The Late Show, Stephen Colbert told viewers it was day 69 of the war with Iran and despite Trump’s “one-page peace offer” it remains ongoing.Republicans are hoping to get a deal before the midterms with more than eight out of 10 Americans struggling to cope with rising gasoline prices. “The other two Americans couldn’t talk right now because they were busy sucking gas out of their neighbour’s Subaru,” he said.The war is also affecting other supply chains with the McDonald’s CEO warning this week that it might affect the burger chain’s business
Historic Oxford cinema under threat as Oriel College refuses to extend lease
The survival of one of the UK’s oldest independent cinemas is under threat while its landlord, the University of Oxford’s Oriel College, refuses to extend its lease to allow what its director says are vital renovations.The Ultimate Picture Palace in east Oxford opened in 1911, and has entertained generations of students and residents, including the Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes. It sells tickets for its 106 seats through an old-fashioned box office window to patrons queueing on the street, and its screen is behind a manually opened curtain.After decades of instability, the UPP, as it is known by locals, recently became a community-owned business when more than 1,200 supporters raised funds to keep the cinema operating in the Grade II-listed building.But plans to secure its long-term future have been dashed by Oriel College’s reluctance to approve an extension that would allow further investments and renovations to take place
Jimmy Kimmel on Trump: ‘His list of threats is now longer than Kash Patel’s bar tab’
Late-night hosts discussed the Trump administration’s confusing messaging about the war in Iran and why fruit-flavoured vapes have suddenly become a Republican priority.On Jimmy Kimmel Live! the host spoke about the conflict in Iran and how the strait of Hormuz is still to be reopened.While Trump claims that the US is close to a deal, Kimmel said it was “still very much in flux, as in what the flux are we doing over there?”Trump has been issuing more threats this week, which led Kimmel to joke that “his list of threats is now longer than Kash Patel’s bar tab”.It’s meant that gas prices are still sky high, with California experiencing the highest in the country.This week will also see Marco Rubio being sent to “make nice” with the pope including asking him “why God didn’t answer his prayers for smaller ears”
Arthur Miller opens up about marriage to Marilyn Monroe in newly unearthed recordings
He was one of the greatest playwrights of the 20th century and she was one of the greatest actors. In newly unearthed recordings made over a period of nearly three decades, Arthur Miller opened up about his short-lived marriage to Marilyn Monroe, saying she wanted a husband who was a “father, lover, friend and agent,” and the child she longed for would have been an “additional problem”.In taped conversations with his friend and biographer Prof Christopher Bigsby, Miller said he had felt “death was always on her [Monroe’s] shoulder – always”. He had believed that if he did not “take care of her life” she would come to a “catastrophic end”.“One time I brought doctors to pump her out because she had swallowed enough stuff [drugs] to kill her,” he said
US consumer confidence hits record low as Americans fret about rising prices; jobs report beats forecasts – as it happened
UK borrowing costs fall and pound rises after Starmer says he will stay as PM
‘Being human helps’: despite rise of AI is there still hope for Europe’s translators?
UK schools should remove pupils’ online photos as AI blackmail threat grows, say experts
Tennis slams’ refusal to discuss money is slap in face for players who are right to threaten boycott | Tumaini Carayol
England aim to match Lionesses and Red Roses as historic summer kicks off