Cricket: the main stories of 11.09.2026

Durham's 93-run win over Middlesex at Chester-le-Street does more than settle a Division Two table: it returns Ben Stokes to first-class cricket's top tier with his home county, three years after relegation. Promotion was sealed with a round of matches still to play, which gives Durham time to plan a Division One squad rather than scramble for one over the winter. The England captain's red-ball workload now sits in a stronger competition in the months either side of international duty. Middlesex, beaten inside four days, stay where they were.

At Edgbaston, England's decision to field an all-pace attack in the third Test against Pakistan was put under pressure on day three, with Pakistan digging in and Dan Lawrence, a part-timer, eventually taking a wicket. The selection follows the squad reshuffle that saw Brydon Carse left out last week. In the County Championship, Nottinghamshire went into the final day needing a result against Hampshire after their promotion rivals won, while Somerset routed Leicestershire to go top — a second such win in five days, after they dispatched Glamorgan on 7 September.

• The absence of an Ashes Test in the north of England in 2027 traces back to a legal dispute: Hampshire were paid £1m by the ECB after challenging the 2023 decision to award a match to Headingley.
• The inaugural Knight-Stokes Cup put state-school teenagers on the turf at Lord's, the first final of its kind.
• Day three at Edgbaston ran to a 11am start; day four begins Saturday.