While the T20 World Cup continues in the UAE, Hit For Six focuses on the huge news that Ben Stokes will play in this winter’s Ashes series in Australia.

Stokes: I can't wait

Ben Stokes is fully focused on winning back The Ashes for England in Australia this winter.

The talismanic all-rounder’s return from a break for his mental well-being was confirmed on Monday morning.

It is a huge boost for Joe Root and his England team-mates — and Stokes has revealed how he got over his struggles.

He wrote in the Daily Mirror: "I’m buzzing for The Ashes. Just buzzing.

"To be able to confirm to Joe Root that I would be available to join the tour from the start after my second successful surgery on my finger was a great moment.

"Rooty’s reaction when I told him was simply: 'Oh bloody hell, that’s good.'

"He said it was great to hear me sounding so well and that is the truth of it. I feel much better about everything from my finger to my mental well-being.

"I know I can focus once again on playing my best cricket Down Under this winter.

"I don’t want anyone to feel the way I did, because I wasn’t in a good place and I’m not afraid to admit it.

"I was in a real dark place and having some difficult thoughts. 

“I was always one of those people who wouldn’t talk about how they are feeling and just keep it internal and crack on. 

“I now realise talking is such a powerful thing and it has completely changed me.”

Stokes’ finger problems are behind him too, following a second surgery on his hand.

He suffered the injury playing for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL in April and only now does he feel it is fully fixed.

He added: "It hasn’t been easy to get to this point but the work that my surgeon Doug Campbell has done, plus my physio in Newcastle, Louise, and the ECB medical staff has all helped get my finger right.

"My ligaments and tendons had been glued down from the scar tissue that had grown to help my finger heal from the first surgery. Doug actually illustrated it using the neck tie he was wearing at our consultation.

"I was then able to see exactly what he meant during the surgery itself because I was awake and could watch the whole thing which was pretty cool.

"He took the screws out and scraped away the scar tissue and my finger was like new again."

'He makes us feel taller'

Close friend and senior pro Jos Buttler has already been talking up the impact Stokes will have on Root’s side.

Despite failing to regain the Ashes in 2019 as a 2-2 draw left it in the hands of the Aussies, Stokes’ innings at Headingley is the abiding memory of a classic summer.

He single-handedly kept the series alive with a stunning 135* to guide England home.

And that sort of character is what Buttler will not underestimate.

Buttler told The Mirror: "Having him added to the squad is obviously incredibly exciting for everyone because he brings so much to the side in all sorts of different ways.

"He balances the team brilliantly, and before his break he had been playing some of the best cricket of his life so we all hope he can get back that form.

"But it is not just his cricket with bat and ball and in the field. He has such an impact on those around him, he makes us all feel taller stood next to him.

"He gives other players confidence, he is incredibly loyal to the team and when it comes to competitiveness Ben is not shy of any challenge."

Best of enemies

But it is not just his team-mates looking forward to Stokes in Australia.

Professional sportsmen always want to play the best players — and the Aussies were not able to do that in 2017-18.

As part of the fallout from the incident in Bristol where Stokes was caught on camera fighting, he was not available for selection.

Former skipper Steve Smith labelled it ‘great’ news that the Englishman felt able to play cricket again.

He said: "I think any team is more dangerous when someone like Ben Stokes so it certainly adds a lot to their depth. 

"We’re excited and I’m glad personally that he is able to be back playing some cricket. It makes for a really good series. 

"I think it’s great that he is now available. Obviously their summer he missed a lot of the cricket there with some mental health stuff going on.

"Any time someone comes back from that it is a great thing. 

"And we love coming up against the best players so it is great to see him on the plane."

Ex-Aussie keeper Brad Haddin told Fox Cricket Down Under that the England team will ‘grow a leg’ with Stokes in it.

He said: "And now the theatre begins.

"This is what you want — you want the best players playing in the Ashes series.

"The one thing Ben Stokes does, not just with his presence on the field with bat and ball, but he makes guys around him better players. 

"That’s what I’m excited about. This England team now will grow a leg."