Ben Stokes makes personal tribute to late father on Ashes day one

Stokes wore his dad Ged's cap number for the New Zealand rugby league side, 568, on a black armband when he took to the wicket during the opening morning's play

Ben Stokes paid a personal tribute to his late father on day one of the first Ashes Test at the Gabba.

Stokes wore his dad Ged's cap number for the New Zealand rugby league side, 568, on a black armband when he took to the wicket during the opening morning's play.

Ged - a hugely influential figure in the allrounder's life - passed away exactly one ago following a battle with brain cancer. 

He played a single international match for the Kiwis, in 1982.

On Tuesday, Stokes posted an emotional message to his late father.

He wrote on Instagram: "I wasn’t sure if I would ever walk out onto a field ever again a few months ago.

^{Ben Stokes posted this picture on Instagram of himself with his dad, who died in 2020 (Ben Stokes/Instagram)}

"I find it amazing that when I do walk out tomorrow I’ll be remembering you exactly one year on since you left us. You are gonna be with me this whole week."

Stokes withdrew from England's 2020 Test series against Pakistan to be with his father following his diagnosis early the same year.

In a subsequent interview, he revealed how he "didn't sleep for a week" after finding out about his dad's illness.

"He was tough (on me). But as I got older I realised it was all for a reason," he told the Weekend Herald.

"He knew I wanted to be a professional sportsman and he was drilling that into me as I started to make a career in cricket.

"His reputation sort of speaks for itself. You speak to anyone who knows him, played with him or worked with him, they'd all say the same thing."

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