Ben Stokes created havoc with the bat, scored a tremendous century in the ODI Cup and led the team to a resounding victory.

Delhi:Even though Ben Stokes has said goodbye to international cricket, he is leaving no chance to showcase his talent in domestic cricket. In the very first match of England’s Domestic ODI Cup 2026, Stokes played an important role in helping his team Durham start their campaign with a win by playing a brilliant century. Derbyshire had set a target of 257 runs for victory in front of Durham, which Stokes’ team achieved at the loss of 5 wickets with 5 balls remaining.

derbyshire innings account

Batting first after the toss, Derbyshire scored 256/9 in 50 overs. The team did not have a good start, but Martin Anderson took the responsibility and played a brilliant inning of 112* runs in 118 balls. During this, he hit 10 fours and one six. Apart from them, Brook Guest scored 48 runs and Wayne Madsen scored 23 runs.

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Luke Stephen Robinson was the most successful bowler for Durham. He took 3 wickets for 44 runs in 10 overs. Whereas Shafiqullah Ghafari took 2 wickets.

Stokes took command after initial setbacks

Durham, while chasing the target of 257 runs, did not have a good start. The team had lost its two wickets for just 24 runs. At such a time, captain Ben Stokes came to the crease and instead of hurrying, he decided to handle the innings. First he formed an important partnership with Will Rhodes. After this, along with Colin Ackerman and wicketkeeper Oliver Robinson, he put the team in a strong position.

Stokes returned unbeaten after scoring a century

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When Durham needed it most, Stokes played a captaincy innings. He scored unbeaten 108 runs in 123 balls. In this brilliant innings, he hit 10 fours and 3 sixes. Stokes not only scored runs but also controlled the entire run chase brilliantly. Captain Casey Aldridge (23*) also supported him well in the last moments. There was an unbeaten partnership of 41 runs between the two and Durham won the match by scoring 257/5 in 49.1 overs.