Ben Stokes fights through BBC Sport Personality of the Year interview from home after England’s Test cricket captain returns home from whitewash against Pakistan with stomach ailment
Ben Stokes had a very good reason for not turning up at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards, after returning from Pakistan on Wednesday morning with a stomach ache.
The England cricket star came second in Sports Personality of the Year as Lionesses hero Beth Mead scooped the night’s top prize.
Shortly before the show began, his wife Clare posted a picture of him sleeping on the sofa with a blanket.
Ben Stokes was unable to attend the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards on Wednesday
Stokes had a good reason for not turning up when he returned from Pakistan ill
She captioned the Instagram post: ‘All set for #spoty here! Except Stokesy went home with a stomach ache.’
Stokes, who returned home on the back of England’s historic 3-0 whitewash against Pakistan, managed to wake up in time for a video interview with Gary Lineker.
He said: ‘It’s been an amazing three months. Pakistan is just another development for our Test team. Hopefully this Test team will continue to strive to break records and keep people watching Test match cricket.
Ben Stokes woke up in time from his nap for his interview with host Gary Lineker
Stokes eventually finished second to Mead who was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year
‘It’s a chance for me to change something and make the players think they’re playing for something a little different and take the pressure off their shoulders. To let people go out with complete freedom and not have to think about failure.
‘Publicly coming out and speaking about the situation I found myself in, I know that has helped a lot of people. I’m really proud of that. When you go through the bad times, it makes the good times better.’
Stokes stayed up until the end of the show where he was announced as second place behind Mead.
Stokes returned to England on Wednesday morning after their whitewash win against Pakistan
After the show ended, his wife Clare posted another photo of Stokes sleeping, writing: ‘All the excitement for Stokesy.’
It’s been a big year for England’s Test cricket captain, even before they became the first visiting side to whitewash Pakistan. Since he was given the captaincy, England have won nine out of ten Tests.
He was also part of the England team that won the T20 World Cup in November and scored the winning runs in the final.
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