Stokes is a ladies man

SOME of Ben Stokes’s 260,000 Twitter followers might have thought the England all-rounder was being very much ‘on message’ with his strong support for the World Cup-winning women cricketers on social media.

But Stokes was backing the women’s game long before their Lord’s triumph. His mum deborah was the cricketer in his family, even playing while pregnant with Ben back in New Zealand.

Meanwhile, the County durham mansion that Stokes has bought with his £1.7million indian Premier League earnings belonged to disgraced Sunderland and England footballer Adam Johnson, who is serving a six-year jail sentence for underage sex offences. OLD TRAFFORD has suffered a major commercial setback for the fourth Test against South Africa. The on-site Hilton Garden Inn Hotel, with 85 pitch-facing rooms, was aiming to be ready for the match, which starts on Friday, but will not now open until later this month. A Lancashire spokesman said the delay was caused by the main contractor having an issue over Hilton brand compliance. He added: ‘Our focus has always been on getting it right for the long term.’