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Ben Stokes makes rapid 50 for Durham, Essex v Notts, and more: county cricket – live | Sport
Key events
Tea-time scores
Chelmsford: Essex 184 v Nottinghamshire 358-6
Sophia Garden: Glamorgan 358 v Surrey 74-6
Grace Road: Leicestershire 377-5 v Yorkshire 185
Taunton: Somerset 208 v Warwickshire 241-5
Hove: Sussex 159 v Hampshire 191 and 126-6
DIVISION TWO
Chesterfield: Derbyshire 364 v Lancashire 161 and 56-3
Chester-le-Street: Durham 183-3 v Northants 450
Canterbury: Kent 416 v Middlesex 180-6
New Road: Worcestershire 126-3 v Gloucestershire 289
Tea at Durham – Stokes 95 not out in the session!
Pulls off his helmet and leads the players off to biscuits-just out-of-the-oven warm applause from the crowd and the balcony. Durham 183-3.
Scores round the grounds to follow.
McSweeney has the honour. Five dots.Six.
One over till tea.
Double reverse sweep – one hurrahs for four and Stokes reaches 94 and will face the next over. 150 u for Durham.
A slog sweep off Calvin Harrison takes Stokes up to 86. Four overs till tea – can he get to three figures first?
Surrey have recovered – slightly – and van der Gugten has spoilt Norten’s chances of a nine-fer, catching Patel off his own bowling for 24. Surrey 70-6, trail Glamorgan by 288.
Spin at The Riverside, brings up the first fifty of the season for Will Rhodes. Nathan McSweeney must now bowl at Stokes, who has itchy feet and dances down the wicket, but only to midwicket.
100 for Jack Haynes!
At Chelmsford, three for Harmer, three for Slater but Notts have a lead of 160 over Essex, thanks largely to a second century of the season from Jack Haynes. Notts 344-6.
And four more for Stokes, with wristy fury, through the slips. 73 not out.
This is Stokes. Bang through extra cover for four, then next ball leans into a splayed back foot and with a wristy cut-flick picks up four more off Sales. Stokes 69 not out.
Sales trucks in and sends down something wide and Stokes twists and nudges four more, bringing up the 100 partnership with Rhodes off 131 balls of which Stokes has made 60. Rhodes a not too shabby 44 not out at the other end. Durham 130-3 on a perfect summer day, trees in dark green jackets , cornflower sky, candy floss clouds.
Stokes comes down the pitch …. and dabs Sales into the offside for a dot. Silk and steel. Durham 126-3.
And the big news is Andrew Radd got a new rosebush for his birthday in traditional Northamptonshire colours: Abracadabra floribunda.
Four wickets for Tom Norton
SCurran, Lawrence, Pope and Sibley: Surrey 42 for five. Young Tom has the power with him today.
As Stokes slams a Guthrie full toss through the covers for four more…
Fifty for Ben Stokes!
A short ball flat batted for four through deep midwicket to bring up a fifty off 51 balls, with ten full-power fours.
Hampshire’s innings continues to implode – Ali Orr shimmying Goodman behind. Hampshire 66-6, lead by 98. Which might be nearly enough in this game.
Stokes dropped
Harry Conway won’t want to replay that moment. Stokes, on 43, gets a thick top edges and Conway shifts left, shifts right and lets the ball through his fingers. Drops his head and wishes for a cold dark room. Durham 96-3.
Oooof, Stokes smokes Procter down the ground via Procter’s left hand. Ooooh, that feels like it could be a mess, the physio does something that probably hurt.
Surrey are 16 for three. Dom Sibley calls his captain for a single but hadn’t counted on Ben Kellaway’s quick arm. A not happy Rory Burns trudges back. Then Tom Norton with two more – through Sam Curran’s gate, and persuadeing run machine Dan Lawrence to nick behind to Cooke.
Lancs, batting second, have safely put six on the board without losing a wicket.
Vasconcelos comes up to the stumps to whisper sweet nothings in that pesky No. 38’s ear.
Sanderson the frugal is being bashed about here – as Stokes swivels and pulls in one move a short ball to the rope. A couple of balls later another disappears, another quickstep down the wicket, another boundary, backhand through midwicket.
England’s national selector Marcus North has been spotted here at CLS, just in time to see Stokes bash a 60-ball century.
Stokes has decided to deal in boundaries – gently onto the back foot, viciously square cut Sanderson to the rope. Tries to go for broke on the offside but Zaib saves the ball. Durham 56-3, Stokes 20 not out from 18.
Five wickets for Stanley, four for Atkinson
Four cheap wickets for best of the bowlers Gus Atkinson in Glamorgan’s 358 – centuries for Cooke and Crane and a 80 in two parts for Colin Ingram – last man out.
And a first-innings lead of 203 for Derbyshire at Chesterfield – 75 for Ben Aitchison adding to Lancashire’s frustration. Two wickets at the last for Anderson.
Hampshire and Middlesex are batting in banana shoes today. Hampshire 19-4 in their second innings lead by just 55. Three wickets for Tom Price.
Middlesex have lost a third, but Holden and Falkner are doing their best to stop the rot: 47-3.
Stokes is prowling. After inside edging, he attacks Sanderson. Down the track, straight drive, four. The next screams between Sanderson’s legs for four more – 12 not out.
Wooosh! Stokes off the mark, hotstepping down to Conway and driving him through mid-off for four.
Stokes in!
Two quick Durham wickets after lunch – McKinney and Bedingham both caught behind. The cherry capped Northants fielders bounce along at the change of ends – a bowling point already in their pocket. Durham 30-3.
A hundred for Mason Crane! And Rehan Ahmed!
In Division One:
Mason Crane has joined Cooke in the hundred club, frustrating Surrey at Sophia Gardens. 103 not out – his maiden century after he got close earlier this season. Glamorgan 332-7.
And after a prolific 2025, a first century of the season for Rehan Ahmed, showing England just what they are missing. Leicestershire 236-3 a lead of 51 over Yorks.
Notts have drawn level with Essex, but with only four wickets down.
Mousley (54) and Hain (55) are making Somerset toil at Taunton – Warwicks 129-2.
Six wickets for Kyle Abbot as Sussex are all out for 159. But Hampshire are 9-2 in their second innings.
(and an early wicket at CLS – Lees lbw to Sanderson – but McKinney has woofed two gorgeous fours – Durham 14-1)
This last wicket stand is really starting to be an annoyance to Durham now – 32 and counting – and counting no more – as Guthrie clips Parkinson to Lees at midwicket. Northants all out for a nice round 450.
Round the grounds and round the grounds we go. In Division Two:
Four wickets for Mitchell Stanley – tipped for England glory by Ali – in Derbyshire’s 265-7. Dal and Aitchison currently frustrating Lancs. A Derby lead of 106.
Kent, on a roll after the three-day defeat of Lancs in the last round, have just been out for a satisfying 416 against Middlesex. Chris Benjamin the highest scorer with 70 – and a maiden five-wicket haul for Seb Morgan. Four for Tom Helm.
And Gloucestershire lost their last three wickets for 32 this morning, Miles Hammond not out for an innings-propping up 139. Worcs 24-0 in reply.
“Vasconinconsolable?” ask Tim Maitland.”You’d think that Ricardo Vasconsalos had just made a king pair judging from the utterly defeated funeral march that took him off the pitch after losing his wicket for a career best 187.
”Despite making two centuries in April, it’s not as if he’d been in sparkling form since. A T20 knock of 34 was his best effort since the start of May. I hope he cheers up eventually.”
Ben Raine replaces Stokes after a good hour of charging in.
Free tickets for Father’s Day at Hove
A super idea from Hove – there’s free entry for all tomorrow to see team of the season Sussex and celebrate Father’s Day.
If you fancy celebrating with cricket on Sunday, you need to get the tickets in advance online – book here
Sunday lunch at the carvery can be booked here.
Stokes thinks he’s had Guthrie caught behind. He really thinks it’s out. A nasty ball, lifting off a length. Guthrie whips off his helmet – hit me on the head mate. The physio comes out for a concussion check and Stoke chunters and stares.
I’m not sure quite what he muttered to Potts but it works as Potts yorks the giant Conway next ball. Conway stays in place for a good minute replaying the shot if only he could go back in time. But he can’t and walks off for five.
A beauty from Potts! Broad leaves with a fancy twirl and the ball bruises off the earth into middle stump. Northants 406-8 and some hard work rewarded by Durham this morning.
There’s so much cricket to follow. Obviously you’ll be glued to CCLive! but you can spare a glance for England’s travails at The Oval
and Ash Gardener and Beth Mooney in the mood against Netherlands in the WWCup.
Catching up from my emails, yesterday. Romeo is doing a pet’s corner at his website, matching pets to CCLive readers. If you are interested in playing, send a photo of your pet to romeoromeotangocclive@gmail.com.
And a breakthrough for Durham as Potts fires one in, Vasconcelos swipes and is caught behind for a wonderful 187 -23 fours, two sixes, a highest career score. That, however, is little solace as he walks off with his head bowed and his shoulders slumped in devastation.
An early wicket for Gus Atkinson this morning at Sophia Gardens. Chris Cooke without adding to his overnight 101. That happens so often – it would be good to see some stats although that would be cheeky as I’m not going to do it myself. Stokes fires in, Conway leaves one that thinks about knocking out his stumps. Stokes puffs out his cheeks in frustration.
A change of ends for Ben Stokes this morning. With Potts at the other end, this is quite a test first thing for Vasconcelos and Conway. And I can recommend the cheese scones from the health club here at CLS – absolutely delicious.
Scores on the doors
Division One
Chelmsford: Essex 184 v Nottinghamshire 111-2
Sophia Garden: Glamorgan 244-6 v Surrey
Grace Road: Leicestershire 177-3 v Yorkshire 185
Taunton: Somerset 208 v Warwickshire 92-2
Hove: Sussex 121-3 v Hampshire 191
DIVISION TWO
Chesterfield: Derbyshire 197-5 v Lancashire 161
Chester-le-Street: Durham v Northants 388-6
Canterbury: Kent 356-7 v Middlesex
New Road: Worcestershire v Gloucestershire 258-7
Preamble
Good morning from Chester le Street, where summer is wearing her most perfect summer’s blouse. The Durham players are having a gentle game of keepy-uppy – though Stokes is stretching from the sidelines. Play starts here and around the grounds at 11am.
There will be tropical nights in some locations where overnight temperatures are expected to remain above 20C (68F).
This combination of hot days and very warm nights is likely to bring a range of impacts to people and infrastructure.
There is a risk to health, especially for elderly and vulnerable people.
The UK Health Health Security Agency has already issued separate amber and yellow heat health alerts across large swathes of England.
However, even in younger and healthier people there is a risk of health conditions such as sunstroke and heat exhaustion.
Delays and disruption to travel networks and power supplies are possible.
There is also the potential for scattered intense thunderstorms, especially for parts of England and Wales, which could pose an additional hazard.
UK News
Corbyn criticises ‘strange’ lack of policy in leadership debate and says Burnham must offer real change – UK politics live | Politics
Lack of policy in leadership debate ‘very strange’ – Corbyn
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he felt the debate on the potential leadership battle between Keir Starmer and Andy Burnham focused more on personality than politics, which he found “very strange”.
“All of the media are very focused on a debate between the personalities, and no stage does any policy debate actually come into it, which I find very strange,” he told Sky News.
Corbyn, who beat Burnham in 2015 for the Labour leadership, said he gets on well with the newly elected Makerfield MP but disagrees with his economic policies, which seemed to him “to be accepting too much of the austerity that we’ve had imposed upon us and doesn’t appear to be doing anything, as I can see it, differently internationally”.
Key events
Corbyn criticised Burnham over his position on Gaza, an issue that has cost Labour support among some voters and driven others to back independent candidates or the Greens instead.
He added: “It seems to me that if there’s going to be a change, then there’s got to be some significant policy changes as well.
“The unpopularity of the government stems from the threats to welfare benefits, stems from the continuing austerity and is deeply unpopular for a lot of other policies, particularly its rather draconian attacks on rights of assembly and freedom of speech.
“So I think Burnham needs to come out with something that is a bit different.”
Lack of policy in leadership debate ‘very strange’ – Corbyn
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he felt the debate on the potential leadership battle between Keir Starmer and Andy Burnham focused more on personality than politics, which he found “very strange”.
“All of the media are very focused on a debate between the personalities, and no stage does any policy debate actually come into it, which I find very strange,” he told Sky News.
Corbyn, who beat Burnham in 2015 for the Labour leadership, said he gets on well with the newly elected Makerfield MP but disagrees with his economic policies, which seemed to him “to be accepting too much of the austerity that we’ve had imposed upon us and doesn’t appear to be doing anything, as I can see it, differently internationally”.
John Harris
Andy Burnham is closing in on Downing Street after a big win in the Makerfield byelection. John Harris and John Domokos take a deep dive into a place where people’s lives back up Burnham’s insistence that we’re living in an economy and society that need radical change – but they also find an infectious spirit of optimism
Comment: Burnham has shown that he can win. But can he govern?
Gaby Hinsliff
Having literally campaigned in poetry, the new Makerfield MP needs a summer of knuckling down to the small print, writes Gaby Hinsliff:
By the end, it had become less a byelection, more a mythical quest. Whoever could draw the sword from Makerfield’s stone – or more prosaically, beat Reform in a seat where it practically swept the board in last month’s local elections – would claim the divine right to rule the Labour party. And lo, on Friday morning, Andy Burnham became the chosen one.
He carries the magic shield of not being from Westminster – though that won’t last, obviously – plus the easy warmth with people that Keir Starmer lacks, and the rare ability to generate excitement in politics. Reform is beatable, and the sun shines brighter for knowing that. A third successive defeat for Nigel Farage in a winnable byelection, after losing Caerphilly to Plaid Cymru and Gorton and Denton to the Greens, suggests a trend, not a fluke.
Less obviously, Burnham’s good-natured campaign also helped the country see another side of places like Makerfield, beyond the day drinkers furnishing visiting journalists with blood-curdling quotes; a side where the Reform candidate’s sexist comments still hurt him and people with tough lives might still give a mainstream politician a chance. Another future is still possible. But only if Burnham shows he can genuinely govern as well as win.
For Starmer was a winner two summers ago, swept to victory on similarly heady but vague promises of change – and look at him now. The last loyalists began peeling away shortly after John Healey’s shock resignation as defence secretary, over yet another prime ministerial failure to take a decision. It’s over for Starmer, essentially. Barring a currently unlikely rush among Labour MPs to embrace Wes Streeting, the question now is how to bridge the gap until Burnham is ready. For turning the kind of post-industrial, leftwing populism that worked in Makerfield into a coherent national project will take some work.
Read on here:
A losing streak? Makerfield shows mounting dangers for Nigel Farage
From Restore and tactical voting to questions over that £5m gift, the Reform leader faces challenges on several fronts, writes senior political correspondent Peter Walker.
As those around Nigel Farage are fond of pointing out, Reform UK has now led in more than 300 consecutive national polls. When it comes to byelections, though, it is fair to say the party’s results are more mixed.
Yes, Robert Kenyon came second in Makerfield to a popular regional mayor backed by a Labour campaign so relentless that the main risk was annoying voters by knocking too often on their doors. Kenyon also increased his and Reform’s share of the vote from the 2024 general election.
This, though, was a seat so demographically Reform-friendly that some pundits warned Andy Burnham was taking a big risk using it as his vehicle for a return to Westminster. In that context, as Farage himself said on Friday morning, Makerfield was a disappointment.
The larger danger is that it could become a trend. Of the five byelections held since the general election in 2024, Reform has only won a single seat, last year in Runcorn and Helsby – and that by precisely six votes.
Read more of Peter’s analysis here:
Jessica Elgot
A pro-Starmer memo circulating among loyalist MPs shows the attack arguments the prime minister and his team would be likely to make in a leadership campaign.
The memo, seen by the Guardian, says: “[Burnham] hasn’t faced any real scrutiny yet. A true contest would expose him to questions that he hasn’t ever before had to answer and likely see his support wane as a result.”
It argues that in polling terms “the trajectory for AB has not been positive”, with his favourability dropping, and “the membership can change their view”.
The existence of a memo drafted by allies of Keir Starmer reveals that his preparations for a contest are under way but also underlines the risks of a wounding civil war within the party with each side trying to expose the other.
Read more:
Peter Walker
Reform UK is examining whether sexist comments by its candidate in the Makerfield byelection may have harmed the party’s chances, after Nigel Farage accepted the result had disappointed him.
The party’s examination of its defeat comes after Andy Burnham won 55% of the vote share in a poll that Reform hoped would be a tightly fought battle between the Labour leadership hopeful and its own candidate, Robert Kenyon, a local plumber.
Canvassers from different parties reported that voters highlighted sexist and lewd social media posts by Kenyon, which emerged during the campaign, with women in particular saying they were put off by them.
After Kenyon came more than 9,000 votes behind Burnham in Thursday’s vote, one Reform activist said the party had advised the candidate not to apologise for the comments. “That’s something that was not his fault, it was how he was advised,” they said.
Read more:
When asked whether Starmer should compete in a leadership competition, Falconer said: “My advice, sadly, would be: don’t stand.
“The reason it would be ‘don’t stand’ is because if you stand, it is likely there would then be a difficult leadership battle in which the two leadership candidates would try to undermine each other.
“That would be bad for the country.”
Starmer has ‘absolutely no authority,’ says Labour peer
Labour peer Charlie Falconer said Keir Starmer has “absolutely no authority” because “everybody assumes” Andy Burnham will challenge for the leadership and is likely to win.
Falconer, who served in the cabinet under Tony Blair, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Starmer could have “at most weeks to go”, leaving him unable to effectively control his cabinet, command the Commons or deal with allies or opponents.
Beccy Cooper, Labour MP for Worthing West backing Andy Burnham, said he is “not the messiah” and insisted that “this doesn’t rest just on one person”.
Speaking to Times Radio, she argued that a Burnham-led government would “still be a Labour government” and would stick to the party’s manifesto because “that’s what people voted for”.
She said a leadership contest involving Keir Starmer “is not actually going to benefit our country or the party in the long term”, while adding that she does not “necessarily want a coronation” for Burnham and would like a new leader in place before the Labour conference in September.
Burnham has shown he can beat Reform and deserves chance to make his case for leadership, says Phillips
Jess Phillips, who quit as safeguarding minister last month, said Andy Burnham has “proved his hypothesis” that he could beat Reform in a constituency where many expected Reform to do very well.
“He beat off Reform absolutely soundly in an area that absolutely should have been delivered to Reform and if anyone else had stood there, we would not be having this conversation now,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“I think he has earned the right to come and make his case to the parliamentary Labour party.”
Birmingham Yardley MP, who previously backed Wes Streeting for the leadership position, said she was looking forward to Burnham arriving in Westminster on Monday and seeing prospective candidates of a leadership contest “setting out their stall”.
But she added: “It would be much better if this wasn’t protracted and didn’t go on for a long time.”
Morwenna Ferrier
‘Within 10 mins, Andy had nicked it’: illustrator on his ubiquitous image of Andy Burnham
It was shortly after Andy Burnham’s famously rousing speech outside the Manchester Central Library in October 2020 that Stanley Chow decided to draw him. Or rather his wife did.
“It was the pandemic and we were all so down in the dumps at that point,” says the illustrator, speaking from his home in the city this week. But I remember looking around and he had just moved everyone.
“He was already a good mayor, but at that point we all thought: ‘Oh shit, he’s really good.’ And then my wife goes: you should draw Andy.”
So he did, using his preferred medium, Adobe Illustrator. “I put it on Twitter and within 10 mins, Andy had nicked it.”
Burnham initially used the image for his Twitter handle, but it has since appeared on billboards, beer mats, mugs, aprons and record inlays, becoming a visual proxy for both his mayoral campaigns and more recent campaigning in Makerfield.
With his spot-on light scowl and navy/black attire, the image has become shorthand for Burnham’s anti-establishment sentiment. “There is no tie, no,” says Chow, 51.
After its initial use, Burnham said he was “grateful to Stan for making me look cooler than I am”.
Read more:
What will ‘change’ look like if Andy Burnham becomes prime minister?
Kiran Stacey
Andy Burnham’s victory in Makerfield sets up a battle for Downing Street. Allies of the outgoing Greater Manchester mayor want him to be installed as prime minister as quickly and painlessly as possible, while those close to Keir Starmer want the Labour leader to fight on.
If he does become prime minister, Burnham will be expected to deliver on the “change” he promised after his win on Thursday night. But what would that look like, and what policies would his government be likely to pursue?
The Guardian’s policy editor, Kiran Stacey, explains:
Starmer under pressure to agree to a timetable to relinquish power
Keir Starmer is facing growing pressure from cabinet ministers and MPs to avoid a bruising leadership battle and instead set a timetable to hand power to Andy Burnham, who won a resounding majority in the Makerfield byelection.
The prime minister pledged to fight to keep his job, but ministers loyal to Starmer have urged him to set out plans to step down over the weekend.
Weakened by collapsing poll numbers and a string of local election losses, one cabinet minister – who has not previously told the prime minister to go – said Starmer’s departure was now inevitable.
A leadership challenge requires the formal backing of at least 81 Labour MPs, but, as my colleagues Jessica Elgot and Rowena Mason write in their report, one MP said they believed there were about 200 Labour MPs prepared, if necessary, to sign Burnham’s nomination papers.
Jessica and Rowena wrote:
Starmer called members of the cabinet on Friday afternoon to set out his determination to fight on. The transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, is said by sources to be among those who expressed concerns in a call on Friday.
At least two ministers, Ed Miliband and Shabana Mahmood, have previously suggested to Starmer that he should set out a timetable for his departure.
Other ministers are expected to press Starmer on whether fighting a leadership contest would be wise. Another cabinet source said: “Everyone thinks it is over and everyone wants it to be a dignified, orderly exit.”
Supporters of Wes Streeting, the former health secretary, who has said it is also his intention to challenge Starmer, are being urged by Burnham allies not to launch a competing bid and for the party to unite behind a single successor.
Read the full report here:
We’ll bring you the latest political updates throughout the day…
A man was seen battering the door of a pizzeria as members of the public run away on Friday night.
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