Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes is a very personal documentary on Prime Video that sees England cricket captain Ben Stokes come under the spotlight. The one-off show has been created alongside Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes, who also interviews Stokes on screen as it tells the story of Ben’s amazing cricketing career, including his 2019 World Cup triumph, and the moment he announced his break from the game to prioritize his mental wellbeing following his dad’s death from brain cancer.
So here's everything you need to know about Ben Stokes: Phoenix From The Ashes on Amazon Prime Video...
Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes release date
Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes is a one-off documentary released worldwide on Prime Video on Friday August 26 2022.
Is there a trailer for Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes?
Yes there's a trailer for Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes released by Amazon Prime Video which shows Ben in action on the cricket field to talking about the major issues and struggles he's faced since his cricket superstardom put him in the sporting spotlight. Take a look below...
What happens in Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes?
Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes will show how cricket legend Ben became the talk of 2019 as the pivotal member of an England team that not only drew a tough Ashes series, but also beat New Zealand to win the World Cup in a thrilling final.
Yet just a year later, the star all-rounder took an indefinite break from the game to prioritize his mental wellbeing and spend time with his father, Gerard Stokes, who was terminally ill with brain cancer.
Now, the recently-appointed England test captain comes under the spotlight in a no-holds-barred feature-length documentary created alongside Oscar-winning film director Sam Mendes, who also interviews Stokes on screen about the moment his mental health hit rock bottom.
"When you’re sat on the toilet in a hotel room and you’re having a massive panic attack, with your manager and your wife on the other end of the phone trying to talk you through it, that’s when you know things aren’t quite right," says Ben Stokes. "It’s not only been the sport that’s been mentally fatiguing, it’s been everything else, which has built up over a long time. It got to a point where everything became too much. When I stopped playing, my anxiety went through the roof. I even had a panic attack in the dry cleaners when a woman asked me to sign a cricket ball for her. And then I had one picking up my son from a birthday party. It’s such a hard thing for a man to talk about."
As well as hearing from Stokes himself about the highs and lows of his personal life, the film also charts his extraordinary career, from being a youngster playing for Cockermouth Cricket Club in Cumbria, to his match-wining century against Australia in 2019. It features interviews with some cricketing greats, including former England captain Joe Root, Stokes’ manager Neil Fairbrother and the late Australian spin bowler Shane Warne, while cameras also film Stokes at home with his wife, Clare, and their children, Layton and Libby.
Now 31, Ben Stokes says he’s finally on the road to recovery thanks in part to medication and taking three months out of the game. He’s also finally learned to enjoy playing cricket again following the death of his father in December 2020. "I don’t do what I do to make people think good of me, I do what I do because I love the sport,’ he says. "I’m not out on the other side, but to be able to manage it every day I see as a huge accomplishment. Life throws so many things at you but you’ve just got to try your best to overcome that. There’s light on the other side."
More about Ben Stokes: Phoenix From The Ashes
Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes is directed by Chris Grubb and Luke Mellows and executive produced by Sam Mendes, Mark Cole and Sunil Patel. The documentary is produced by Whisper.
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