Ben Stokes reveals how he reclaimed England vice-captaincy

A message to ECB chief-executive Tom Harrison led to the allrounder being reinstated for the Ashes after he was stripped of the responsibility the episode in Bristol

England allrounder Ben Stokes has disclosed how a message to ECB chief-executive Tom Harrison led to him being reinstated as vice-captain.

Stokes was stripped of the role as part of the punishment for his involvement in an incident outside a Bristol nightclub in 2017.

But he became Joe Root's right-hand man again for the Ashes series against Australia following his heroics during the World Cup.

The Durham allrounder has now revealed how he sent a text to Harrison asking to be restored as No.2 - a request which was granted in July.

"It means a lot to me to be Joe's second-hand man so to get it taken away was obviously disappointing," he explained.

"I felt I'd been in the team for a good period and playing some good cricket, so I thought to myself 'this is probably the best time to put myself out there and ask someone the question that I probably wouldn't naturally do'.

"It's one of the biggest series a cricketer gets to play in so I thought 'I have nothing to lose here'. I gave it a go and thankfully it worked. On the day I got told I was vice-captain, it was a really good day."

Though England were unable to reclaim the Ashes, Stokes repaid the faith put in him by finishing as the team's top performer against Australia.

He scored 441 runs - including a memorable 135 not out in victory at Headingley - and took eight wickets with the ball during an otherwise disappointing campaign.

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