FOAKES GETS INSPIRATION FROM HIS DAD
BEN FOAkES will be following in the footsteps of his late father Peter if he performs on the big stage in Australia this winter.
The England reserve wicketkeeper’s dad was a Premier League referee who officiated several Wembley finals, including the 4- 3 Championship play-off epic between Bolton and Reading in 1995.
However, in parallels with Jonny Bairstow, the man he is understudying as gloveman on the Ashes tour, Foakes lost his father in childhood. A tattoo on his wrist, displaying the date 18.9.2006, is a reminder of his own family’s tragedy.
‘My dad died when I was 13 — he took me to cricket, he got me into the sport, took me to training, threw me balls, and obviously it was a massive hit when he died,’ said Foakes. ‘It took me a few years to deal with. He had a heart attack — no warning at all.’
The 25-year- old has gone on to earn a reputation as the best gloveman in the country, edging out Jos Buttler and Sam Billings for a place in the 16-man squad that touched down in Perth yesterday.
England begin their three-month tour with a two- day match against a Cricket Australia XI on Friday.
THE wife of Australian vice- captain David Warner believes Ben Stokes should not be allowed to play in the Ashes after the all-rounder’s late-night brawl last month.
Candice Warner said: ‘I don’t think he can come, I really don’t. That footage is disgusting.’ Husband David was fined and banned in 2013 for punching Joe Root in a Birmingham bar.