Ben Stokes has admitted he didn't think he would become a sporting role model when he was growing-up in Cockermouth.

Stokes has become a key figure for England over recent years and was appointed England's Test vice-captain earlier this year.

But the 26-year-old Cumbrian says he still struggles to comprehend being a hero to youngsters.

He said: "I get a lot of tweets from parents filming their kids and saying ‘look at him, he is two years old and he’s smacking it out of the park’ or ‘here’s my little 10-year-old and you’re his hero.’ And it blows me away.

"I would never have imagined that I would be told I’m someone’s hero. It is pretty cool to hear.

"You do take a step back and take a moment when you hear of young kids aspiring to be like you.

"Growing-up in Cockermouth and Cumbria getting told off in school, you don’t think that is something that will happen to you."

But Stokes says both he and his England team-mates are keen to inspire the next generation.

He added to the Mirror : "We want kids to aspire to be as good as they can be and, if we can have any influence on that in the current England side from watching us, then that is great."

On his debut Indian Premier League experience, all-rounder Stokes admitted he was pleased with his own performance as his Pune Supergiant side reached the final after the Cumbrians' record-breaking move.

"Looking back on the price-tag that everyone talks about, the fact is I would have left with the same amount of money had I done poorly or had I done well, so the only way I was going to judge myself was by how I did on the pitch not by the price," he said.

"Thankfully, things did go pretty well in that sense, so I left India with my shoulders up and chest out because I felt good that I had managed to produce big performances for the team.

“If it had gone the other way and I hadn’t managed to play well, then I would have felt like I had let myself down.

“It was an amazing six weeks I spent out there but it does take some getting used to.

“Just going down for breakfast takes ages because there are people waiting to mob you. I do feel for the Indian players who have it all the time."

Stokes was this week involved in the first batch of day-night County Championship matches, as Durham drew with Worcestershire.