Ben Stokes' father battling brain cancer

England all-rounder Ben Stokes' father Ged has said he was diagnosed with brain cancer in January after a trip to South Africa to watch his son play in the four-Test series.

Ged, a former New Zealand rugby league player, was admitted to hospital in Johannesburg ahead of England's Boxing Day Test with South Africa last year.

The cancer diagnosis was made on his return to New Zealand.

"They (doctors) had to assess how I travelled and from that they discovered I had a couple of tumours on my brain," the 64-year-old told the New Zealand Herald newspaper in an interview.

"So, basically brain cancer. How that came about nobody knows but obviously I've had a few bangs on my head through my life so that's probably contributed to it."

Ben, who missed England's final two Test matches against Pakistan at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton earlier this month, travelled to New Zealand citing family reasons.

"I didn't sleep for a week and my head wasn't really in it," the 29-year-old England vice-captain told the Herald. "Leaving (the team) was the right choice from a mental point of view."