Ben Stokes reveals he needs anxiety drugs to deal with father's death

Ben Stokes has revealed he is taking medication for anxiety due to his ongoing mental-health issues as he continues to struggle with the death of his father.

Stokes opened up in a new Amazon documentary, Phoenix from the Ashes, that will be released on Friday in which he also expresses his anger towards a perceived lack of support from the England and Wales Cricket Board when he was charged with affray and subsequently cleared at Bristol Crown Court in 2018.

The current England Test captain is now a passionate advocate on mental-health issues after taking a break from the game last year. In the film he reveals it was the death of his father, Ged, his anger and guilt over a story in the Sun about the murder of his half-siblings before he was born and the pressures of playing international cricket and dealing with injury.

“I’ve never spoke about this stuff,” Stokes said. “I was catastrophizing quite badly about stuff. I never thought I would be on medication to help me for that kind of stuff. I am not embarrassed or ashamed to say it because I needed the help at the time.”

He added: “But it’s not done just because I’m back playing. I still speak to the doc, not as regularly, and I’m still taking medication every day. It’s an ongoing process.”

Stokes also details how he told an ECB official to “f--- off” when he asked him for a selfie on the night of the 2019 Cricket World Cup final, laying bare his relationship with those who run the game’s governing body.

In an interview with Telegraph Sport he also reveals how he wants to change English sport, not just cricket, and says there should be no cut in county championship matches. He says Jos Buttler, the one-day captain, and himself should be consulted as part of the ongoing