Ben Stokes' house burgled by masked robbers with wife and kids inside, England captain shares harrowing details
Ben Stokes confirmed that while his family did not incur any physical harm, several "sentimental" items were stolen.
Ben Stokes, captain of the England cricket team, has revealed that a group of masked men burgled his house while he was out in Pakistan playing a Test series. Stokes' wife, Clare, and his kids, Layton and Libby, were inside while the crime occurred, but thankfully, no one was harmed. The harrowing experience of home invasion occurred earlier this month on 17 October, when England were in the middle of playing the second Test against Pakistan at Multan. During the crime, some of Stokes’ most valuable belongings were stolen, for which he has posted an 'appeal for help' to the public and cops, hoping to retrieve some of the items he holds closest.
At this point, no investigation details have been shared, although it is believed that footage of Stokes' home CCTV is with the police to help nab the culprits.
"On the evening of Thursday, 17th October, a number of masked people burgled my home in the Castle Eden area in the North East. They escaped with jewellery, other valuables and a good deal of personal items. Many of those items have real sentimental value for me and my family. They are irreplaceable. This is an appeal for any help in finding these people who carried out this act," Stokes posted on X.
"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. 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," he wrote further.
Ben Stokes' OBE among stole items
Stokes shared pictures of some of the stolen items. Among the stolen items, which included jewellery and a designer bag, was the medal awarded to Stokes for his OBE. He received this honour in 2020 for his contributions to cricket, particularly after a memorable 2019 summer.
That year, Stokes played a pivotal role in England's ODI World Cup triumph, delivering a standout performance in the final, and later produced a miraculous display to secure victory in the Headingley Test against Australia during the Ashes.
"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," Stokes wrote.
Stokes has gone through a string of personal turmoil in the last few years, losing his father, Ged, at 65, in 2020 after a prolonged battle with brain cancer - which led to him having anxiety and panic attacks - and being mentally all over the place a year prior when details about a family tragedy made headlines. In 2019, a leading tabloid revealed disturbing details about a certain Richard Dunn, ex-husband of Stokes' mother Debby, who shot their daughter Tracey, eight, and Andrew, four, before ending his own life. Stokes and his mother were compensated for the damages accordingly.
The cowardly act undoubtedly will distract Stokes, who has had his share of mental struggles in the past. In 2021, Stokes took an indefinite break from cricket to prioritise mental health and even though he returned after five months, the all-rounder revealed he feared never playing cricket again. In 2022, Stokes admitted that he still seeks therapy and takes anti-anxiety medicines.
He recently starred in England's record-breaking win in the first Test, although Pakistan took the series 2-1. The day after the burglary, Stokes batted to score 37 off 36 balls as England slumped to a 152-run defeat. England's next big upcoming tour takes place in November when they travel to New Zealand for a three-match Test series, and hopefully from the team and ECB's point of view, Stokes will be up and running in the best of spirit by then.