Ben Stokes has made a strong statement in his return to domestic cricket, delivering an unbeaten 73 off 51 balls for Durham against Sussex at Chester-le-Street. This performance comes just days after his return from international retirement and follows an unbeaten 108 in Durham’s recent five-wicket victory over Derbyshire in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup.

The 35-year-old all-rounder showed no signs of the cramp that troubled him during his initial comeback earlier this week. Stokes struck five sixes in his latest innings, displaying a level of freedom and aggression that had waned during the final stages of his Test captaincy, which concluded late last month following England’s series loss to New Zealand at Trent Bridge.

Stokes’s resurgence comes amid the England and Wales Cricket Board’s efforts to promote the revamped Hundred tournament. Despite his involvement in the Northern Superchargers squad during the Hundred’s first four seasons, Stokes chose not to enter this year’s auction, foregoing a minimum £250,000 contract. Instead, he opted to return to traditional domestic one-day cricket with Durham, marking his first appearance in this format for the county since 2014. This decision stands apart from the high-profile, commercially driven Hundred competition, highlighting Stokes’s preference to refocus on conventional formats following his international retirement.