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.
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
Jimmy Kimmel on Trump’s ballroom: ‘What can you say? The man loves to dance’
On late night’s Cinco de Mayo edition, hosts focused on the ballooning cost of Donald Trump’s new White House ballroom, the return of the presidential fitness test and a fast-food employee who allegedly fired a gun at a customer for helping themselves to free soda.After touching on Monday night’s Met Gala, Jimmy Kimmel wondered if the glamorous event could have a home next year in Trump’s new White House ballroom.“Originally he said it was cost $200m, and it would be financed by private donors,” Kimmel said. “Then the price tag doubled to $400m, which he said would still be paid for by private donors. Then yesterday, Republicans in the Senate pushed a bill that was allocate a billion dollars of taxpayer money to to go towards this project
In the 60s and 70s, Black students demanded a voice on radio. A new project ensures that history isn’t lost
The HBCU Radio Preservation Project celebrates stations that were an outgrowth of the civil rights movement, to help people understand their importanceAfter Shaw University’s WSHA radio station went on air in 1968, several other historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) followed the North Carolina school’s lead, launching a wave of their own.For decades, the students who worked on these channels used them to inform listeners about happenings on campus, while also playing musical selections and offering cultural programming. In doing so, the radio stations at HBCUs became pivotal resources for both the campus and the surrounding community.But the landscape of university-based media is changing. Today, of the more than 100 HBCUs across the country, about 30 have radio stations
Seth Meyers on Trump’s poll ratings: ‘His disapproval is higher than Covid and January 6’
On Monday night, late-night hosts weighed in on Donald Trump’s erratic statements on Iran, rising oil prices and the shuttering of every budget-conscious traveller’s favorite low-cost airline.Seth Meyers opened his Monday night monologue with news of a new poll finding that Americans are overwhelmingly opposed to the Iran war and Trump’s plan to peacefully guide oil tankers through the strait of Hormuz.“Oh wait, I’m getting word that the administration has unveiled a new name for the mission,” the host joked. “Let’s see, what is it called: Operation Clusterfuck.”Meyers then reacted to a new Ipsos poll which showed Trump’s disapproval ratings at a record 62%, in large part due to gas prices rising $1
‘We got a drive-by egging in Baltimore’: Super Furry Animals on making The Man Don’t Give a Fuck
Gruff was the first person I ever met who could just churn out songs – good, catchy ones. I joined his band Ffa Coffi Pawb, but by 1992 they’d split and Gruff and I were living in Cardiff, as were Bunf, Guto and my brother Cian, the other future Furries. We started out doing techno sets, and I had a little home studio where we demoed ideas for songs. Our first singer, the actor Rhys Ifans, slept on a mattress in the corner.I had this Steely Dan album, Countdown to Ecstasy
Navel gazing: oranges, mandarins and persimmons top Australia’s best-value fruit and veg for May
How to save asparagus trimmings from the food-waste bin – recipe | Waste not
Thoran and chaat: Romy Gill’s Indian-style asparagus recipes
Australian supermarket sauerkraut taste test: one is ‘like eating the smell of McDonald’s pickle’
Fears for spears: how to cook asparagus without blanching | Kitchen aide
Georgina Hayden’s quick and easy recipe for spanakopita orzo | Quick and easy