In 2013, Jonathan Trott revealed that he was so tormented by the game of cricket, that he avoided going out on the field to play another day of the Test match against Australia at the Oval.
He even went on to admit that he had a very perturbed idea to drive his car into the Thames or into a tree to avoid the ordeal. It was a brave admission, but also an indication of the pressure and mental health issues that impacts the players in the glitzy world of sports. In his book Unguarded, Trott explains how he wanted to avoid playing cricket and get away from the scrutiny and judgment that comes with playing at the highest level.?
Jonathan Trott/Getty Images
The under-discussed issue of mental well-being again came to the fore recently after news emerged that Australia's Glenn Maxwell was taking an indefinite break from cricket to deal with mental health issues. It was another example of how the brutal grind of professional sport can unsettle the players and make them vulnerable. A week later, two more Australian cricketers - Nic Maddinson and Test hopeful Will Pucovski, took a sabbatical citing mental health as a reason. That made it three players having taken a break from cricket in a fortnight.
Will Pucovski/ABC
While he played in the first two T20s against Pakistan, Maxwell withdrew from the squad before the final game. Cricket Australia along with the whole of cricket community was quick to lend their support to the Australian, with Indian captain Virat Kohli praising his 'courage'. "I have 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, how to speak, how to communicate. And to be honest, I couldn't have said 'I am not feeling great mentally and I need to get away from the game' because you never know how that's taken," said Kohli after the first Test against Bangladesh.
?
The much debated and discussed episode involved former England batsman Jonathan Trott. After making his Test debut in 2009, Trott scored a ton of runs and became a regular in the England side. After winning his third Ashes in 2013, it should have been another high point in Trott’s impressive career and yet, as his book reveals, that game was a dark marker in his unravelling. A calm and controlled figure, the former Englishman's book revealed the darker side to playing at the top level.
After his near-collapse at the Oval, Trott was back in action two months later. Another Ashes, and the never-ending pressure to perform. Being in his prime and scoring runs, he was always going to be a key player for the England side. After playing the first Test, Trott was feeling broken and he left the tour after just one game. It had been coming, and he was not able to keep it together. His captain, Alastair Cook, had seen tears in Trott’s eyes when he walked out to join him in the middle in Brisbane. It was getting out of control, and Trott was having a torrid time. The more haunting sight had earlier been seen during the practice session when Trott had set the bowling machine to its fastest speed.
Cook reveals in the book, “He must have been hit hard 20 times,” Cook recalls in the book. “Again and again, he took terrible blows. It was horrible to watch … to my lasting regret, I didn’t do anything.”
It was all the fault of Trott’s deteriorating mental health. Trott, usually the calmest of figures had all the answers to the gruesome fast bowling on the pitch, but when it came to mental wellbeing, he was clueless.
Trott left the Ashes 2013 series midway having failed to overcome his anxiety issues and retired from international cricket in 2015 after another horrific tour of West Indies. His bold revelations don't make for a happy read.?
?
After the recent turn of events in which three Australian cricketers have taken an indefinite break from the sport, it has again opened the need for issue to be discussed and addressed. While Cricket Australia have backed their players and provided them with their support, there is a need to take the issue of mental wellbeing more seriously. It also opens up a larger question - if players of great repute who have made their name performing at the highest level can go through the ordeal, how what about the young cricketers who are still trying to climb up the ladder.?
Glenn Maxwell/AP
Also a lot of other cricketers may shy away from talking about mental health, for the fear of looking weak -- case in point being Virat Kohli's admission - you don't know how people will react.?
Mental well-being can no longer be swept under the carpet. We cheer for our favourite sportspersons and yet we choose to ignore their hardships. This ignorance can impact us all we need to talk more openly about depression in sports. As American TV personality Fred Rogers famously said: “Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary.”?