Joe Root has praised the courage of England captain and close friend Ben Stokes
(Picture: Action Images via Reuters)Joe Root believes England captain Ben Stokes’ standing among his players will only be enhanced by the frank and honest way he has spoken about his mental health struggles.
Root and the entire England Test squad saw Stokes’ new film, which is out on Amazon Prime on Friday, for the first time at a premiere in central London last night.
In it, Stokes details his mental health struggles in the aftermath of his father’s death in late 2020, which led to a four-month break from the game. He reveals that he is taking medication to manage the situation and still sees a clinical psychologist.
Root, Stokes’ predecessor as captain and a close friend, praised his bravery.
“Yeah, I think so,” said Root, when asked if his standing would grow among England players.
“I think it's very powerful what he's done, to be honest. To share his journey and his story and everything that he's had to go through. Not just with us as a team but the rest of the world. I think it's quite a powerful thing and, you know, I can't see how it won't better the environment that we're playing in.
“And it takes great courage and shows great leadership actually, that it's okay to not be okay sometimes, and to ask for help and go and do what he's done. So it can only be a good thing.
"It’s very brave to lay himself as bare as he has done. It’s very powerful for anyone watching, to see someone who at times looks superhuman and can do things that other players can’t do – it shows great leadership to put yourself out there and express some of the difficulties he’s had to go through.
“It’s quite powerful for people to see sometimes it’s okay not to be okay, to ask for help is perfectly alright and a brave thing to do. For someone like Ben to do that – hopefully if there are people out there struggling or finding things difficult, they can gain the courage to ask for that help."
