‘It’s a great wake-up call’: Joe Root praises Ben Stokes’ openness

Joe Root has praised Ben Stokes’s courage in dealing so frankly with his off-pitch issues in his new Amazon documentary, predicting the England captain’s openness “will better the environment we’re playing in”.

Root has seen the film, Phoenix from the Ashes, which is released on Friday. “There’s a lot in there even I as someone who’s generally quite close to him wasn’t aware of,” he said.

“There’s obviously certain things he hasn’t always found easy, to tell everyone where he’s at, how he’s feeling. It’s just a great example that, regardless of what may be perceived on the outside, everyone has vulnerabilities and can get themselves into a very difficult place. It’s a great wakeup call that you’ve got to reach out to the guys around you if you see something.

“When you see everything he’s dealt with and think that’s only in a four- or five-year period, it’s quite remarkable he is where he is now having been through all that. It’s very powerful what he’s done.

“To share his journey, everything he’s had to go through, not just with us as a team but the rest of the world, I can’t see how it won’t better the environment we’re playing in.

“It shows great courage, great bravery. We were all there with him going through it, it’s not easy to see a close friend and teammate like that but look at him now. It’s great to have him leading this team and making Test cricket so enjoyable to play and to watch.”

Stokes is not the first England player to step away from the game because of stress. Marcus Trescothick ended his international career aged 31 in 2006, while seven years later, when Root was relatively fresh to the international side, Jonathan Trott left the squad midway through an Ashes series.

“We’ve come a long way since then,”