England was in Pakistan for a three-match Test series which they lost by 2-1. But for the captain Ben Stokes, the worries did not end here.
Bad news was waiting for him as soon as he reached home. He found out that a masked gang burgled his house while he was away. Although his wife and two kids were at home but thankfully they were saved and none of the physical harm was involved.
The 33-year-old also posted pictures of the lost items he lost including the medal for the OBE which he received in 2020. He was awarded with this medal following his integral role in England’s World Cup success in 2019 and his famous knock at Headingley Test against Australia in Ashes Test series.
“By far the worst thing about this crime is that it was carried out whilst my wife and 2 young children were in the house,” said Stokes in a statement accompanying the missing items.
“Thankfully, none of my family came to any physical harm. Understandably, however, the experience has had an impact on their emotional and mental state. All we can think about is how much worse this situation could have been”
“I am releasing photographs of some of the stolen items – which I hope may be easily identified – in the hope that we can find the people who are responsible for this”
“Although we have lost cherished possessions, to be clear, my sole motivation in sharing these photographs is not the recovery of material items. It is to catch the people who did this.”
Stokes has urged anyone with relevant information to come forward and contact Durham Constabulary, and gave the contact number and crime reference in his post – as stated by the ESPNCricInfo
Talking about the cricketing schedule, Ben Stokes and the team will travel to New Zealand for a Test series, scheduled to begin from November, 28th.
For the series, England have announced their squad and Jacob Bethell earned his maiden call-up in the Test squad.
The 21-year-old made his T20 and ODI debut for England during a series against Australia. Jamie Smith will miss the entire series due to the birth of his first child.
England and Ben Stokes have put their faith in Ollie Pope who struggled during a series against Pakistan. While Jordan Cox will be the wicket-keeper for Three Lions in the absence of Jamie Smith.
Reacting to this opportunity Cox said:
“Keeping for me is something that I absolutely loved. I’ve kept since the age of 11 and then obviously I got that pretty nasty injury in The Hundred, which made me stop keeping for a year”
England’s Test tour of New Zealand
Warm up-game vs NZ Cricket XI: November 23-24 (Queenstown)
First Test: November 28-December 2 (Christchurch)
Second Test: December 6-10 (Wellington)
Third Test: December 14-18 (Hamilton)
England squad for the series:
Ben Stokes (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox (wkt), Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes
