Add Category
Ben Stokes says he is taking medication for anxiety due to his mental health issues as he continues to struggle to cope with the death of his father.
The England Test captain opened up in a new Amazon documentary, Phoenix from the Ashes, which will be released on Friday in which he also expressed anger towards a perceived lack of support from the England and Wales Cricket Board when he was charged with affray and subsequently cleared at Bristol Crown Court in 2017. He was dropped for that summer’s Ashes tour after his arrest.
Stokes is a passionate advocate on mental health issues after taking a break from the game last year. He said he needed the break because of the death of his father, Ged, his anger and guilt over a story in The Sun about the murder of his half-siblings before he was born, the pressures of playing international cricket and dealing with injury.
“I’ve never spoke about this stuff,” Stokes said. “I was catastrophising quite badly about stuff. I never thought I would be on medication to help me for that kind of stuff. I am not embarrassed or ashamed to say it, because I needed the help at the time.”
Stokes also details how he told an ECB official to “f--- off” when asked for a selfie on the night of the 2019 World Cup final, laying bare his relationship with the governing body.
In an interview with Telegraph Sport he also reveals how he wants to change English sport, not just cricket, and says there should be no cut in County Championship matches. He says Jos Buttler, the one-day captain, and himself should be consulted as part of the review into domestic cricket being conducted by Sir Andrew Strauss.
Ben Stokes has experienced some huge highs and lows in his England career.Credit:Getty
But it is his anger towards the ECB that simmers under the surface of the film, which features interviews by Oscar-winning director Sir Sam Mendes. It is clear he is referring to officials at the board when asked if he has any lingering anger over how the governing body treated him when he was arrested in September 2017 and subsequently dropped from the side.
“Few people, yeah quite a few of them wear a suit as well,” he says when asked by Mendes if he felt let down by anyone during that period. “Still there. Always will be,” he adds.