Durham 302 for 7 (Stokes 95, Rhodes 62, Sanderson 4-81) trail Northamptonshire 450 (Vasconcelos 187, Raine 3-63, Potts 3-84) by 148 runs
Ben Stokes made 95 from 118 balls in a blazing statement with the bat, but four wickets from Ben Sanderson gave Northamptonshire the upper hand in their Rothesay County Championship fixture with Durham.
Stokes, whose England future remains shrouded in doubt following his omission from the ongoing Test at the Kia Oval, produced a thrilling knock comprising 18 fours, but fell to Harry Conway when on the brink of his 24th first-class hundred.
Durham's innings had begun after Matthew Potts had mopped up the Northamptonshire tail, as they were bowled out for 450 in the morning session, adding 62 to their overnight total.
The hosts got off to a poor start though, as they lost three cheap wickets at the hands of Sanderson and Harry Conway to leave them on the ropes at 30 for three. Stokes then came to the crease at number five and he brought some much-needed impetus to his side's first innings along with Will Rhodes in a fourth-wicket stand worth 153.
The pair both fell at the hands of Conway after tea to leave Durham in a spot of bother and Sanderson backed that up with a late double-strike, as the hosts closed on 302 for seven, 148 runs behind.
Ricardo Vasconcelos, unbeaten on 181 overnight, reached his career-best score. However, the opener fell short of a double-century as Potts had him caught behind for a magnificent 187.
Durham's reply got underway just before lunch, but they were jolted in the third over as Sanderson trapped Alex Lees lbw for 6.
Sanderson struck again after the break, as Ben McKinney was caught behind. Conway then joined in on the action as he got the prized wicket of David Bedingham, also caught behind.
That brought Stokes to the crease and he brought his repertoire of shots to the fore, with a lofted shot down the ground off the bowling of Sanderson greeted by applause at Chester-le-Street.
Stokes continued to look good with a couple of dismissive boundaries and the England all-rounder started to build a budding partnership with Rhodes.
Stokes was then dropped on 43, as he top-edged an attempted pull off Guthrie, only for Conway at fine leg to put it down.
Stokes then passed fifty in a Durham shirt for the first time since 2024, from 51 balls, and he kept the scoreboard ticking over as his partnership with Rhodes passed three figures.
Stokes picked up back-to-back boundaries off the bowling of James Sales to continue his rescue mission. Rhodes then notched up his first half-century of the season, with his pragmatic approach paying off.
Stokes continued his assault on the Northamptonshire attack, playing a delightful sweep as he closed in on three figures. However, he fell for an excellent 95 after tea, bowled by Conway. who then added Rhodes soon afterwards for a well-made 62.
Graham Clark and Ollie Robinson steadied the ship for the hosts, with the former playing a lovely cover drive to relieve some pressure.
The pair then brought up their 50 partnership, but their combination didn't last much longer as Sanderson got Clark lbw. The 37-year-old seamer then bowled Kasey Aldridge late on to make sure it was Northamptonshire's day, as Durham closed the day 148 runs from first innings parity with three wickets in hand.
