Ged Stokes, a former New Zealand rugby league international and father of England’s all-rounder Ben, has died at the age of 65 after a year-long battle with brain cancer.
The news was announced by Ged Stokes’ former rugby league club Workington Town, for whom he played a season in 1982-83, before returning as coach in 2003, when the family, including 12-year-old Ben, emigrated from New Zealand. to Cumbria.
“It is with great sadness that we learn that our former player and coach Ged Stokes has passed away,” the club wrote in a tribute on Twitter. “Ged is written in the rich fabric of the city’s history and will be greatly missed.
“Our thoughts are with Deb, Ben and James. Ged still has many, many friends here in West Cumbria and we send them our thoughts as well.”
The news comes almost 12 months after Ged first fell ill with brain cancer during England’s test tour of South Africa in December 2019. Following his diagnosis, Ben was granted indefinite leave to spend time with his family in New Zealand during the England test. series against Pakistan in August.
He returned to cricket in October after missing the first rounds of the Rajasthan Royals’ IPL campaign, with the “love and blessing” of his family, and then took part in the three-match T20I leg of the England tour of South Africa, before flying. home last week before the postponed ODIs.
“Saying goodbye to my dad, my mom and my brother in Christchurch was difficult,” Stokes wrote in October in his column in the Daily mirror. “It has been a difficult time for us as a family, but we have bonded and supported each other the best we can.
“And I was able to get on the plane with the love and blessing of my parents after we made the decision, so that I could play again, as a family without outside influences.”
Ben Stokes has often cited his father’s influence throughout his playing career, and regularly dedicates his milestones on the field to him with a three-finger salute, in recognition of the amputation of the finger that Ged suffered during his days at the rugby league in New Zealand.
“My dad was very strong in the responsibilities that I have,” Stokes added. “He told me that I have a duty to do the work that I do and that I also have a duty as a husband and father.
“We thought about it a lot and discussed it extensively, and we came to a decision that now makes me refocus on the game.”
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