It was right choice to leave England team from mental point of view, acknowledges Ben Stokes

In 2019, Ben Stokes was living the best version of his life, as he was key to England’s first World Cup victory, combined with his heroics against Australia at Edgbaston in the Ashes that followed. The all-rounder’s exploits did not stop there, as he continued to showcase his abilities against South Africa and West Indies in the 2020 cricketing season. 

While he struggled in the first Test against Pakistan, the all-rounder received a piece of news that clearly left him in dismay before he opted out of the rest of the Test season. Stokes admitted that his "head wasn't in it" after the Test at Old Trafford, with his dad, Ged Stokes being diagnosed with brain cancer. 

"I didn't sleep for a week and my head wasn't really in it. Leaving [the team] was the right choice from a mental point of view,” Stokes told the New Zealand Herald. 

In an interview with the same publication, his dad revealed that he was diagnosed with brain cancer following his return from South Africa during the start of the year after suffering a brain bleed on the eve of First Test at Centurion. 

"They had to assess how I travelled and from that they discovered I had a couple of tumours on my brain as well. So, basically brain cancer. How that came about nobody knows but obviously I've had a few bangs on my head through my life so that's probably contributed to it," Ged told the same publication. 

The all-rounder looked back at the influence his dad had on him, growing up as a sportsman, admitting that it was his dad’s toughness and drilling, which allowed the New Zealand-born cricketer to be successful in the sport. 

"He was tough [on me]. But as I got older I realised it was all for a reason. He knew I wanted to be a professional sportsman and he was drilling that into me as I started to make a career in cricket."