Stokes at it again with quickfire 82

BEN STOKES’ strong form with the bat since being named England Test captain continued as he struck 82 off 110 balls for Durham against Glamorgan at Chester-le-Street. Stokes marked his shift to No 6 by hitting a record-breaking 17 sixes at Worcester last week. He managed two yesterday in a innings that ended when Michael Hogan snared him with the second new ball. To whom Stokes will throw the ball at the start of a new Test era next month is uncertain, amid news that Chris Woakes is awaiting the results of a scan on his knee. Woakes had a pain-killing injection after returning from the Caribbean in March. He is sitting out

Warwickshire’s home match against Northamptonshire and has one County Championship fixture — against Yorkshire next week — before the England squad is named for the first match under the new captain-coach axis of Stokes and Brendon McCullum. Unless he plays at Headingley, Woakes will not be considered for the back-to-back Tests at Lord’s and Trent Bridge. Saqib Mahmood, another contender to join returning duo Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad in the attack at the start of the international summer, was withdrawn from Lancashire’s Roses contest after reporting back stiffness before the toss and Ollie Robinson walked off at Leicester due to a stomach upset after sending down just one over for Sussex. It was a similarly disappointing return for Test hopeful Josh Bohannon, who fell cheaply when Yorkshire’s Jordan Thompson angled a full ball into him for a routine lbw. But team-mate Keaton Jennings finished unbeaten on 150, his second hundred in as many innings since returning from a calf injury, as Lancashire made 288 for three. It proved a tough day in the field for former England captain Joe Root (right) who had to resort to a handwarmer to keep out the cold at Headingley.