Stokes back bowling in the nets after knee trouble

England captaincy favourite Ben Stokes has stepped up his rehabilitation from a knee injury, bowling in the nets at Durham during his latest training session.

Stokes, who is widely tipped to succeed Joe Root as Test skipper, had scans after returning from last month's tour of the West Indies with a painful left knee and has been targeting a return to county action next month to tune up for England's first Test against New Zealand on June 2.

Stokes reported back for net practice at Emirates Riverside on Tuesday and has spent the last four days batting outdoors. On Friday, overseen by coach Will Gidman, he faced seamer Matt Salisbury during the lunch break on day two of Durham's County Championship clash with Nottinghamshire before testing his fitness by taking the ball himself.

With fast bowling coach Neil Killeen in attendance, Stokes hit a good pace during an extended spell at batter Graham Clark before signing autographs for a handful of onlookers.

Stokes could play in a maximum of three four-day, red-ball games - at Worcestershire on May 5, at home to Glamorgan a week later and at Middlesex on May 19 - ahead of that first England Test of the summer at Lord's.

Durham are open to him playing as a specialist batter if required, but the initial signs are promising that the 30-year-old all-rounder's comeback is ahead of schedule.

Whether Stokes adds captain to his long list of roles when he returns to England duty remains to be seen. Writing in his Daily Mirror column on Thursday, Stokes paid tribute to Root before adding: "I know there will be lots of speculation around who will take over from him, and clearly as vice-captain and someone who has stood in on a few occasions my name will be strongly talked about.

"But all