Ben Stokes' home burgled by masked gang while family were inside

Christchurch-born England test cricket captain Ben Stokes says his house was burgled by a masked gang while his wife and children were at home.

Stokes was in Pakistan at the time with the England team.

He posted on social media pictures of the missing items, which included the OBE he received in 2020.

"By far the worst thing about this crime is that it was carried out while my wife and two young children were in the house," he said on X.

"Thankfully, none of my family came to any physical harm.

"Understandably, however, the experience has had an impact on their emotional and mental state.

"All we can think about is how much worse this situation could have been.

"Although we have lost cherished possessions, to be clear, my sole motivation in sharing these photographs is not the recovery of material items. It is to catch the people who did this."

Stokes said the burglary happened on the evening of October 17.

The following day, England were beaten by Pakistan in the second test.

He returned to the UK after the conclusion of last week's third test.

Stokes, who lived in Christchurch before moving to England at age 12, has appealed to the public for help finding the stolen items which also included jewellery.