Former rugby league player Ged Stokes has ‘serious illness’Stokes to miss
England training session before Boxing Day TestBen Stokes’ father Ged is in “a critical condition” in a Johannesburg hospital, with the England all-rounder at his bedside. The England and Wales
Cricket Board announced that the former rugby league player was taken in with a “serious illness” on Monday.
![Ben Stokes father in critical condition in Johannesburg](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/e4854cdfc778f51425b8066a389586ee66590d9d/0_158_3500_2100/master/3500.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=bc3c6f378c14f15ff3f99c38b110f306)
Stokes was due to join his teammates in a
Christmas Eve training session in Centurion, 45 minutes north of Johannesburg, but will instead be with his family. It is not yet known whether the newly-crowned
BBC Sports Personality of the Year, who lit up 2019 with unforgettable performances in the
World Cup and the Ashes, will be in a position to take the field at SuperSport Park on Boxing Day.