Australia star Steve Smith has said he is "glad personally" that Ben Stokes will be part of England 's squad for the upcoming Ashes series.
Stokes has declared himself for a return to action and was officially added to the Ashes squad on Monday.
The all-rounder has not played since July, deciding to take a break from the sport to focus on his mental wellbeing and recovery from a finger injury.
However, Stokes now feels ready to start playing cricket again, following a second operation on the injury.
Writing in his latest column for Mirror Sport, he said: "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 probably didn’t realise just how much of an issue the finger was causing me until I got it sorted the second time around.
"But I had also been struggling with bubble life and events off the field. 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."
Reacting to the news of Stokes' inclusion in the Ashes squad, Australia batter Smith told reporters: "Their summer, he missed all of the cricket there with some mental health stuff going on so anytime someone comes back from that it’s a great thing.
"We love coming up against the best players so it’s great to see he is going to be on the plane.
"Every team is more dangerous when you have got someone like Ben Stokes playing so it certainly adds a lot to their depth.
"I’m glad personally that he’s able to be back playing some cricket, it makes for a really good series."
Australian international's Glenn Maxwell and Will Pucovski have both taken similar breaks in recent years and Smith believes it is "really important" that mental health is being taken seriously within the sport.
"We have seen it a lot more now, the acceptance of people when they’re not doing well mentally," he added.
"So credit to Ben for being able to make that decision and step away for a bit and make sure he’s right to go out and play and live his life.
"You know, there’s more out there sometimes than just a game of cricket.
"So for him to be able to make that decision to step away, and for the acceptance from the ECB and everyone involved, I think that is really important for people going forward, that is for sure."
