Image Credit- Getty
Then a masked gang broke into Ben Stokes’ home while the England captain was in Pakistan for the just finished Test series, he begged for the return of many “irreplaceable” items.
His wife, Claire, and two kids, Layton and Libby, were present when the incident happened on October 17 at his home in Castle Eden, in the North East. Stokes claims the trauma “had an impact on their emotional and mental state” but that his family did not suffer “any physical harm.”
The 33-year-old only came home earlier this week after the three-match series ended with England losing 2-1. He was participating in the second Test in Multan at the time of the break-in. The medal given to Stokes for his OBE, which he received in 2020 for services to cricket after a 2019 summer in which he was crucial to England’s success in the ODI World Cup, including starring in the final and then performing miraculously to help them win the Headingley Test against Australia in the Ashes, was among the items taken, along with jewellery and a designer bag.
“By far the worst thing about this crime is that it was carried out whilst my wife and 2 young children were in the house,” said Stokes in a statement accompanying the missing items.
“Thankfully, none of my family came to any physical harm. Understandably, however, the experience has had an impact on their emotional and mental state. All we can think about is how much worse this situation could have been.
“I am releasing photographs of some of the stolen items – which I hope may be easily identified – in the hope that we can find the people who are responsible for this.
“Although we have lost cherished possessions, to be clear, my sole motivation in sharing these photographs is not the recovery of material items. It is to catch the people who did this.”
In his tweet, Stokes provided the contact information and criminal reference for Durham Constabulary and invited anyone with pertinent information to come forward and get in touch.