England all-rounder Ben Stokes who had an exceptional cricketing summer thanked his family for being there with him through all ups and downs. The cricketer took to Instagram to express his love and appreciation for his family, coming against the backdrop of an atrocious story published about his personal matters.

Stokes, who also pulled off stunning heroics in the Ashes, posted several pictures with his family and captioned the post as, "A summer to remember for a lot of things....things that would not of been possible without the support of my amazing family,through the highs and lows you have always been there for me and I appreciate everything you all do for me...I LOVE YOU"

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Winning season

The 28-year-old had played a match-winning knock of 135 runs in the third Test to guide England to a one-wicket win over Australia in the third Test at Headingley. He also ended the Ashes as England's man of the series after scoring 441 runs and taking eight wickets. The all-rounder also had a successful World Cup campaign as he scored 84 runs in the final against New Zealand to help his side lift its maiden 50-over World Cup. The 50-over and super over action had ended in a tie, but England was adjudged as the winner as they had score more boundaries in the match.

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Ben Stokes' statement

Recently, Ben Stokes had issued a statement against an English daily after they published a report about the cricketer's "secret family tragedy". The England all-rounder called it a 'low and despicable behaviour disguised in the form of journalism'. He hit out at publication for questioning his parents about a tragedy that was private to the family and for sensationalising the matter. Ben Stokes said his public profile was being used to invade the lives of his family members and further said that the decision of the newspaper to publish his personal details will have grave consequences on his mother. He went on to report that there were inaccuracies in the reports published and said that it has 'compounded the damage that has been caused'. Ben Stokes concluded his statement by making a plea to respect his family’s privacy and his father’s life. 

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(With Inputs from ANI)