Ben Stokes releases statement slamming 'The Sun' newspaper for publishing sensitive information about his family

Ben Stokes had an amazing past two months as a cricketer as he helped England lift their maiden ODI World Cup trophy and then played an amazing inning in the Leeds Test against Australia, to help his team win the match and keep the Ashes 2019 alive. He was great with both the bat and ball. However, the all-rounder has come down heavily on irresponsible journalism of English daily newspaper The Sun.

The Daily published an article which revealed sensitive information about the Kiwi-born cricketer’s family and their past which has a sad incident. The story deals with how Stokes’ sister and brother, Tracey, eight, and Andrew, four, were murdered by his mother’s ex before the birth of Ben. The England star and his family have never spoken about the incident publicly ever.

Stokes takes to Twitter to call out The Sun on irresponsible journalism

Ben’s mother Deb was previously married to Richard Dunn and when the two separated, Dunn was furious to know that Deb had gotten along with Rugby coach Gerard Stokes. He had the custody of Tracey and Andrew and shot them both dead before turning the gun on himself in April 1988. The Sun mentioned that the birth of Ben gave his mum “something to live fore”, as per family sources.

However, Stokes has slammed the newspaper for invading their privacy by sending a reporter to his parents’ house in New Zealand and question them about this upsetting event in their life that they had forgotten about. “Today the Sun has seen fit to publish extremely painful, sensitive and personal details concerning events in the private lives of my family, going back more than 31 years,” Stokes posted on Twitter in a long statement which can be read below.

“This is the lowest form of journalism, focussed only on chasing sales with absolutely no regard for the devastation caused to the lives as a consequence. It is totally out of order. The article also contains serious inaccuracies which have compounded the damage caused. We need to take a serious look at how we allow our press to behave. Despite the fact that this has now been made public, I do please ask all concerned to respect my family’s privacy and right to home life,” Stokes wrote on his Twitter handle.

Stokes is currently on a break from cricket after helping England draw the Ashes 2019. He scored 441 runs from the five Tests at an average of 55.12, including two hundreds, and took 8 wickets. He scored a magnificent 135* at Leeds, Headingley to help England chase down 359 runs when they were 280 odd with nine wickets down.