Ben’s big tribute to the team
HELPED IN HELL YEAR
BEN STOKES has paid tribute to his ‘unbelievable’ team-mates who have helped him through the toughest year of his career.
After missing six Test matches, including the entire Ashes series, owing to his late night fracas in Bristol, Stokes has had a frustrating stop-start 12 months with England.
After being cleared in court in August he still faces an ECB disciplinary hearing in December.
Support
But now that he is back in the world’s top ranked one-day team, England’s star all-rounder has revealed just how much the support of his team-mates has helped him.
Stokes said: “People say you’ve got your work colleagues and your friends because you work with them. But there’s a lot of people in this group, outside of the cricket we play, you’d say are your real friends.
“You find out who they are in tough situations and members of this group have been unbelievable.
“I think if anyone is going through anything in the future I think it would be exactly the same.”
Stokes reckons the cricket disciplinary commission is not a distraction even though it could still pause his career for a third time.
The 27-year-old is instead
from DEAN WILSON in Colombo
focusing on the twin targets of wining the World Cup and the Ashes on home soil next year.
And even though he has had the vicecaptaincy taken away he remains a leader within the dressing room.
“Since being in the team it’s one of the things I have always really enjoyed, being given the responsibility of being a leader out there and being a leader in the group,” said Stokes.
“There are five or six of us like that who have been given that responsibility, so still being one of those is still high on my agenda.
“I have always viewed my career playing for England as being lucky to be in this situation, and you appreciate that a bit more I guess.
“And with the World Cup and the Ashes it’s tough to think about the past when you have such exciting things coming up.”
England face Sri Lanka today in a T20 match before attention turns to the three-Test series starting in Galle on November 6.
SRI LANKA (probable):
Dickwella (wk), Samarawickrama, Chandimal (c), Kusal, Shanaka, Mendis, Thisara, Dananjaya, Malinga, Sandakan, Chameera.
Roy, Buttler (wk), Hales, Morgan (c), Stokes, Denly, Moeen, Rashid, Jordan, Plunkett, T Curran.
Ranmore Martinesz & Raveendra Wimalasiri.
UMPIRES:
TV: 2.30pm, Sky Sports Cricket.