Inside Ben Stokes's trials and tribulations over the years

Ben Stokes has experienced a harrowing new chapter in his life after his home was broken into by a masked gang earlier this month. 

The England cricket captain's house was raided on October 17, who broke into his home while his wife and two young children were there - and he was in Pakistan for the test series. 

The intruders made off with several irreplaceable items, including three necklaces, a Christian Dior bag, an engraved ring, and an OBE medal which Stokes received in 2020. 

Stokes said his family did not come to 'any physical harm' in the raid, but it has had an impact on their 'emotional and mental state.'. 

The horrific ordeal is just one in a long line of challenges the 33-year-old has faced over the years, including mental health battles, devastating family tragedies, and a number of physical injuries that have affected his ability to play the sport.

Despite these setbacks, Stokes has managed to bounce back, rising to the captaincy of England's cricket team and sharing his story of resilience in a documentary.

Here, FEMAIL takes a look at the trials, tribulations and trauma Ben Stokes has experienced over the years - and how he's battled to overcome it all. 

Physical setbacks and injuries 

Physical injuries have repeatedly sidelined Stokes, complicating his cricket career along the way. 

His recurring knee issues, a finger injury sustained in 2021, and a hamstring injury in August 2024 have all led to prolonged absences and challenging comebacks.

Stokes has had a chronic left-knee injury for a significant portion of his international career.

He had surgery on his knee in November and returned to bowling earlier in 2023. During the 2023 Ashes series, he was often limited to batting.

In April 2021, Stokes was ruled out of the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season after breaking his finger in their opening match.

Stokes underwent two operations to repair his left index finger, which saw him face several months out of the sport.  

In August 2024, Stokes pulled his hamstring while attempting a single in The Hundred.

He was carried off the field and needed crutches to shake hands with the other team.

Despite being out of the first Test against Pakistan as he continued to recover from the injury, he recently competed in the second Test, which concluded with England being beaten by Pakistan.

He was criticised for his poor performance, with a top score of just 37 across four innings.

Stokes was in Pakistan until the conclusion of the third Test last week which England lost by nine wickets as Pakistan took the series 2-1.

Anxiety battle

In 2021, Stokes stepped away from cricket to address his mental health, as he faced a combination of anxiety, grief over the death of his father, a finger injury and the demands of playing cricket in bio-bubbles because of the Covid pandemic

The England and Durham all-rounder took a five-month break to prioritise his mental health, suffering from panic attacks and anxiety after bottling up his emotions for years. 

In his 2022 documentary, Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes, Stokes opened up about his mental health journey, revealing the intense pressure he felt as a public figure. 

'I never thought that I would feel like I do now,' Stokes said in an interview during his recovery, as reported by The Mirror. 

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He added: 'My anxiety has gone through the roof. You are sat on the toilet in your hotel room and you are having a massive panic attack.

'I did an interview where I'd give off this bravado of being a big tough northern lad with tattoos. I was like "well, I am tough, but that doesn't mean that I can't struggle mentally."'

In the documentary, Stokes revealed he was still taking anxiety medication and he also speaks regularly with a mental health professional.

He later appeared on Red Bull's Mind Set Win podcast, where he admitted: 'I was almost putting emotions and feelings into a glass bottle. The glass bottle got too full and exploded and then everything got a bit too much for me at that time.' 

Since becoming England's captain, Stokes has become an advocate for mental health, ensuring his teammates have access to mental health resources. 

'Within our team, I've been very keen to make sure that we have performance psychologists and clinical psychologists available to everybody,' he explained.

'It's worked really, really well and it makes me just feel comfortable as well knowing that we've got those people on hand within the team now.'

Grief following his father's death 

The loss of Stokes' father, Ged, to brain cancer in December 2020 had a profound impact on the cricket star.

Ged Stokes, a former rugby league player and coach, was a significant influence in Stokes' life, supporting his sports career until he was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2019, a year after he first became ill during England's South Africa Test tour.

Ged was a prop from Canterbury in New Zealand who was in the Kiwis 1982 tour party to Australia, before going on to play 13 games for Workington Town when they were in the top division in 1982-83, making his debut in an 8-0 defeat of Warrington. 

He later coached Workington between 2004 and 2007 and Whitehaven from 2008 to 2010, as well as coaching New Zealand 'A' on their 2003 tour of Great Britain. 

Stokes took compassionate leave from cricket in 2020 - missing the majority of England's summer Test series against Pakistan - to be with his father, who died later that year in Christchurch, New Zealand, at the age of 65. 

Stokes missed the majority of England's summer Test series against Pakistan to be with his father in Christchurch. 

The cricket star has openly shared the emotional toll his father's illness and passing took on him, as well as the struggle to reconnect with cricket following the loss. 

He said in his documentary, Phoenix from the Ashes: 'I knew how much he [Ged] cared about me and the sport and me playing cricket, but when he became terminally ill, everything I did was for Dad. 

'Now he’s not here, he’s taken that with him.'

He later paid an emotional tribute to his father on social media, posting a picture of Ged along with a series of snaps pulling a 'three finger salute' in honour of him.

He wrote: 'In different places now me and you Ged but knowing you'll always have this smile on your face make's me smile every time I think of you. Love you forever and always.'

Devastating burglary at home

On Thursday 17 October, Stokes' house was raided by a masked gang who broke into his home while his wife and two young children were there while he was in Pakistan for the Test series. 

A number of irreplaceable items were taken - including his OBE medal which he received in 2020. 

He released a statement and photographs of the stolen items on 30 October, saying his 'sole motivation' for making a public statement is to 'catch the people who did this'. 

However, this is not the first time that England's cricket captain has been targeted by thieves.

Last year, Stokes had his bag stolen while travelling to watch England play in the Six Nations.

He tweeted angrily at the thieves and thundered that he hoped his 'clothes are too big for you ya absolute ******.'

He had been travelling from his home in Cumbria to watch France smash England in the Six Nations when his bag was taken at King's Cross station.