Austraia/SL/Pakistan - T20s
Glenn Maxwell has 'set the right example for cricketers around the world' - Virat Kohli
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id ... irat-kohli
" "I'm absolutely for it," Kohli said ... "To be very honest, you guys have a job to do, we have a job to do, and everyone is focused on what they need to do. So it's very difficult for anyone to figure out what's going on in another person's mind.
"I've gone through a phase in my career where I felt like it was the end of the world. In England 2014, I didn't know what to do, what to say to anyone, and how to speak and how to communicate. And to be honest, I couldn't have said I'm not feeling great mentally and I need to get away from the game. Because you never know how that's taken.
"So I think these things should be of great importance. Because if you think that a player is important enough, for the team or for Indian cricket to go forward, I think they should be looked after. When you get to the international stage, every player needs that communication, that ability to just speak out.
"And I think what Glenn has done is remarkable. And [he has] set the right example for cricketers around the world that if you're not in the best frame of mind - you try, and try and try, but as human beings you reach a tipping point at some stage or the other. And you need time away from the game. Not to say you give up, but just to gain more clarity."
...
Apart from Kohli's thoughts on the issue, mental health has not been a widely discussed topic in Indian cricket. The associated taboos and insecurity act as major deterrents against players either coming out or asking for breaks. Kohli said players should be encouraged to be open and seek help when needed.
"[...] In my opinion, [a break] is quite acceptable." he said. "And quite nice to do when you're not able to carry on any more. So I think these things should be respected and not taken in a negative way at all because this is happening at a human level, it's got nothing to do with what you do on the field. It's just not having the capacity any more to deal with things, which I think can happen to any person in any walk of life. I think it should be taken in a very positive way." "
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id ... irat-kohli
" "I'm absolutely for it," Kohli said ... "To be very honest, you guys have a job to do, we have a job to do, and everyone is focused on what they need to do. So it's very difficult for anyone to figure out what's going on in another person's mind.
"I've gone through a phase in my career where I felt like it was the end of the world. In England 2014, I didn't know what to do, what to say to anyone, and how to speak and how to communicate. And to be honest, I couldn't have said I'm not feeling great mentally and I need to get away from the game. Because you never know how that's taken.
"So I think these things should be of great importance. Because if you think that a player is important enough, for the team or for Indian cricket to go forward, I think they should be looked after. When you get to the international stage, every player needs that communication, that ability to just speak out.
"And I think what Glenn has done is remarkable. And [he has] set the right example for cricketers around the world that if you're not in the best frame of mind - you try, and try and try, but as human beings you reach a tipping point at some stage or the other. And you need time away from the game. Not to say you give up, but just to gain more clarity."
...
Apart from Kohli's thoughts on the issue, mental health has not been a widely discussed topic in Indian cricket. The associated taboos and insecurity act as major deterrents against players either coming out or asking for breaks. Kohli said players should be encouraged to be open and seek help when needed.
"[...] In my opinion, [a break] is quite acceptable." he said. "And quite nice to do when you're not able to carry on any more. So I think these things should be respected and not taken in a negative way at all because this is happening at a human level, it's got nothing to do with what you do on the field. It's just not having the capacity any more to deal with things, which I think can happen to any person in any walk of life. I think it should be taken in a very positive way." "
J. Pierik:
"Cricket Australia, for instance, is working with mental health group Orygen, and is about to conduct its third survey of players in recent years to see if there is a better way of handling problems.
... Maxwell and Maddinson returned to Premier cricket on Saturday, while those close to Pucovski say he is likely to also be available for next week's Sheffield Shield clash against NSW.
...
As one grizzled veteran pointed out, Ashes tours once gave players a change to decompress during the myriad of matches against county sides. The tours may have been longer than now but they at least had periods where they was more of a genteel feel. Now it's more or less go, go, go.
...
Maxwell's issues are related to a demanding 2019. He did opt against partaking in the IPL earlier this year, choosing to join the county scene in England in a bid to push his Ashes tour hopes ahead of joining the World Cup squad. Pucovski and Maddinson also avoided the IPL, and burnout has not been linked to their issues.
But with a heightened focus on mental health, officials are keeping a close eye on whether players now begin to put their long-term health ahead of even the T20 circuit and take a good break when the opportunity arises, which wellbeing experts say can help to nullify the threat of potential issues.
On the flipside, player managers maintain Cricket Australia should be willing to hand out multi-year contracts to their top talent, with a financial kicker thrown in should they choose to rest and avoid overseas T20 tournaments. Cummins and his management remain at the forefront of this bid but CA has shown no signs of budging.
Mental health is a serious issue but when it comes to the almighty dollar, it's hoped sense can prevail."
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket ... 53cn1.html
"Cricket Australia, for instance, is working with mental health group Orygen, and is about to conduct its third survey of players in recent years to see if there is a better way of handling problems.
... Maxwell and Maddinson returned to Premier cricket on Saturday, while those close to Pucovski say he is likely to also be available for next week's Sheffield Shield clash against NSW.
...
As one grizzled veteran pointed out, Ashes tours once gave players a change to decompress during the myriad of matches against county sides. The tours may have been longer than now but they at least had periods where they was more of a genteel feel. Now it's more or less go, go, go.
...
Maxwell's issues are related to a demanding 2019. He did opt against partaking in the IPL earlier this year, choosing to join the county scene in England in a bid to push his Ashes tour hopes ahead of joining the World Cup squad. Pucovski and Maddinson also avoided the IPL, and burnout has not been linked to their issues.
But with a heightened focus on mental health, officials are keeping a close eye on whether players now begin to put their long-term health ahead of even the T20 circuit and take a good break when the opportunity arises, which wellbeing experts say can help to nullify the threat of potential issues.
On the flipside, player managers maintain Cricket Australia should be willing to hand out multi-year contracts to their top talent, with a financial kicker thrown in should they choose to rest and avoid overseas T20 tournaments. Cummins and his management remain at the forefront of this bid but CA has shown no signs of budging.
Mental health is a serious issue but when it comes to the almighty dollar, it's hoped sense can prevail."
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket ... 53cn1.html
Baum:
"Yes, full-length events can be tedious, but they produce true epics. In nearly all sports, longer contests call on more of a sportsman’s abilities and a team’s coherence. The drama is enlarged, the sense of achievement is proportionately greater. The substance sticks in the memory, not between your teeth. A shorter event’s only lasting virtue is that it’s short.
Yet the trend is to cut down, maybe even dumb down. Ed Cowan said of T20 years ago: you get paid a lot more for being not quite as good.
So where does it all end? Each time you shorten an event, you re-set the concentration span needed for it, and so soon enough you have to shorten it again. It’s a spiral, and it’s corkscrewing down before our eyes."
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/lights- ... 53hnk.html
"Yes, full-length events can be tedious, but they produce true epics. In nearly all sports, longer contests call on more of a sportsman’s abilities and a team’s coherence. The drama is enlarged, the sense of achievement is proportionately greater. The substance sticks in the memory, not between your teeth. A shorter event’s only lasting virtue is that it’s short.
Yet the trend is to cut down, maybe even dumb down. Ed Cowan said of T20 years ago: you get paid a lot more for being not quite as good.
So where does it all end? Each time you shorten an event, you re-set the concentration span needed for it, and so soon enough you have to shorten it again. It’s a spiral, and it’s corkscrewing down before our eyes."
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/lights- ... 53hnk.html
'I was pretty cooked': Burnout, criticism led to Maxwell's mental health break
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket ... 53jtq.html
'"It all caught up with me at that time ... You go through a lot of waves of emotions over the first few weeks [of the break] and especially that first week, that was probably the hardest.''
He said his ''amazing support network'' was a key to getting back to good health.
...
"I did put a bit of pressure on myself to try and play as much as I could this year and, rightly or wrongly, I didn’t come out of it the way I thought I was going to."
As well as his partner, Maxwell also sought counsel from Cricket Australia psychologist Michael Lloyd, renowned sports psychiatrist Ranjit Menon, Moises Henriques (who also lives with mental illness) and other Australian cricketers.
He said social media wasn't something that had an impact on his mental health, however his own internal voice had.'
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket ... 53jtq.html
'"It all caught up with me at that time ... You go through a lot of waves of emotions over the first few weeks [of the break] and especially that first week, that was probably the hardest.''
He said his ''amazing support network'' was a key to getting back to good health.
...
"I did put a bit of pressure on myself to try and play as much as I could this year and, rightly or wrongly, I didn’t come out of it the way I thought I was going to."
As well as his partner, Maxwell also sought counsel from Cricket Australia psychologist Michael Lloyd, renowned sports psychiatrist Ranjit Menon, Moises Henriques (who also lives with mental illness) and other Australian cricketers.
He said social media wasn't something that had an impact on his mental health, however his own internal voice had.'
South Africa snub leaves Joe Root facing T20 World Cup lock-outK wrote:I'm not sure if Root is in the England T20 side.
He's played 4 T20Is so far this year, and 3 last year, but I don't know how many England have played.
I guess we'll see whether he plays in the upcoming series.*
...
* Update: He's been "rested", so I guess we won't know what the selectors are thinking.
...
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id ... p-lock-out
"... why would England take the risk of picking Root? They are blessed with a surfeit of top-order batsmen, all of whom play top-level T20 cricket much more regularly than him. Perhaps, given his record against spin, he might come back into the picture before the 2021 tournament in India, but again his opportunities to play in the format are likely to be scarce.
And yet, counterintuitively, England maintain that Root is part of their T20 plans, and that they simply wished to look "in another direction" at other players in South Africa.
That explanation reflects an uneasy impasse, with all parties apparently unwilling to accept what seems to be obvious: that circumstances have not allowed Root to play enough short-form cricket for him to be among the country's best T20 batsmen. If the long-term solution is unclear, perhaps accepting that hard truth is a necessary starting point - with the World Cup hurtling into view, it must be time to break the gridlock."