Following his retirement from England's national team, former captain Ben Stokes made a remarkable comeback with a match-winning hundred in his first appearance for Durham. Stokes' unbeaten 108, which included 10 boundaries and three sixes, helped Durham secure a five-wicket victory over Derbyshire in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup. Despite struggling with cramp towards the end of his innings, Stokes played a crucial role in Durham's successful chase of 257. His impressive performance came less than a month after announcing his retirement from international duty.
Earlier, Martin Andersson top-scored for Derbyshire with 112, while Stokes went wicketless in his nine overs. Stokes then joined the crease with Durham in trouble at 24-2 and formed crucial partnerships with Will Rhodes, Colin Ackermann, and Ollie Robinson to propel his team towards victory.
When he reached his half-century, Stokes received treatment for cramp but continued to bat, eventually smashing two sixes off his former England teammate Shoaib Bashir to reach his century.