DURHAM’S hopes that Graham Onions could recapture his best form in time to spearhead their bid for survival in Division One ended after three balls of Tuesday’s Royal London Cup tie at home to Nottinghamshire.

Having already missed six weeks with a back problem, Onions departed with a side strain and could be out for the rest of the season.

Durham will now hope that Ben Stokes is again released by England ahead of the fifth Test starting at the Oval today.

That would enable him to drive to Old Trafford, where Durham also start today in a match which could decide who will accompany Northamptonshire into Division Two.

Stokes put his frustrations behind him by thrashing a century as Durham ended Nottinghamshire’s unbeaten Royal London Cup record.

Watched by England selector Mick Newell, the visitors’ coach, Stokes staked a strong claim for a return to Test duty.

He hit a 116-ball hundred which carried Durham to their target of 223 with six wickets in hand and 4.3 overs to spare.

He said: “I’ve had a few starts this season but haven’t gone on, so this is my first hundred since the one for England in Perth.

“If I do get back in the Test team this innings will give me a lot of confidence.”

If Stokes regains his England place Durham will have to consider recalling Mark Wood ahead of schedule after his ankle injury.

This will depend on whether he has suffered any reaction on his comeback for the second team this week.

With Jamie Harrison suffering a recurrence of his knee problem on his return to action last week, and Usman Arshad out with a foot injury, resources are stretched.

Coach Jon Lewis is reluctant to risk Wood, saying: “It’s been tough for him having this series of injuries.

“When he has been on the field he has done really well and we want him fully fit for the last four championship games.

“It would be silly to rush him back too soon.”

Onions was showing signs of regaining his form when he took four wickets in last Friday’s Royal London Cup win against Glamorgan, although all the bowlers received undue assistance from a substandard pitch.

Durham won that game by 52 runs then saw Sunday’s home match against Middlesex washed out after 14 overs.

They will not know whether they have qualified for the quarter-finals until the rest of the group play their final games on Wednesday.

Durham’s fortunes turned at Cardiff, where Phil Mustard and Calum MacLeod somehow survived the pitch perils for 23 overs to put on 101 for the second wicket, which proved decisive.

Despite Stokes weighing in with 49 from 44 balls, Durham collapsed to 185 all out, with five of their 50 overs unused.

However, they then took control after three wickets in an over for Onions.

Paul Collingwood’s cutters were almost unplayable as he took four for 16 and Glamorgan were all out for 133.

Durham were put in against Middlesex after Mark Stoneman lost the toss for the first time in six games and reached 56 for three, with the captain unbeaten on 46, before the rain arrived.

He won the toss against Nottinghamshire and after putting them in Onions’ departure initially looked like being costly as the visitors reached 45 without loss after eight overs.

But after Michael Lumb skied Stokes to mid-off they lost their way against tight bowling from John Hastings and Scott Borthwick.

The only man to achieve any fluency was Riki Wessels, who had made 44 off 46 balls when he gloved a catch to Mustard in trying to pull a leg-side ball from Hastings.

New Zealand left-hander James Franklin played only one shot in anger – a pull for six off Borthwick – in crawling to 28 off 66 balls.

Borthwick completed a tenover stint to take two for 41, as did Hastings in finishing with two for 38.

Paul Coughlin also bowled well to take one for 45 in nine.

Durham scored only 23 off the first nine overs of their reply as left-armer Harry Gurney caused Stoneman a few difficulties and Luke Fletcher was also on the mark.

Mustard cut Fletcher straight to backward point and the same bowler had MacLeod lbw for a duck for the second successive match.

Going in with the score at 35 for two in the 13th over, Stokes was middling the ball straight from the outset.

He completed his half-century off just 51 balls.

Stoneman’s 50 came off 76 balls and when Jake Ball was recalled when the batting powerplay was taken, Stoneman immediately punished him by hitting two huge sixes.

A miscued pull to mid-on off Fletcher brought about his downfall for 86, ending a stand of 150.

Stokes, however, went on to complete an excellent 116-ball hundred by pulling Gurney fiercely to mid-wicket for his 15th four.

He holed out for 103 in the next over, leaving Paul Collingwood to complete the task with a superb six over long-on off Samit Patel’s bowling.