Ben Stokes shows great courage addressing mental health struggles – Joe Root

Joe Root has praised England captain Ben Stokes for addressing his mental health struggles in a new documentary, saluting his “great courage and great leadership”.

Root joined the rest of the Test squad at a London screening of ‘Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes’, a film that sees their skipper tackle the toughest moments of his career, before travelling north for Thursday’s second Test against South Africa.

As well as confronting his 2017 arrest and eventual acquittal on charges of affray and the loss of his father to brain cancer, Stokes is strikingly open about the crushing anxiety and panic attacks which forced him to take a break from the game last summer.

During his own time as skipper, Root took to referring to Stokes as a ‘superhero’ for his outstanding match-winning abilities, but believes his decision to open himself up at his lowest ebbs only serves to underline his strength.

“I think it’s very powerful what he’s done, to be honest. To share his journey, his story and everything that he’s had to go through,” he said.

“Not just with us as team but the rest of the world. I think it’s quite a powerful thing and I can’t see how it won’t better the environment that we’re playing in. It takes great courage and shows great leadership actually, saying that ‘it’s OK to not be OK’ sometimes.

“To ask for help and go and do what he’s done, it can only be a good thing. Ben has not always found it easy to tell everyone where he’s at. It’s just a great wake-up call that you’ve got to do what you can to reach out when the time’s right or if you see something.”

It takes great courage and shows great leadership actually, saying that 'it's OK to not be OK' sometimes.- Joe Root on Ben Stokes

That Stokes can use his platform as