Image Courtesy: Huffpost
The sport of cricket can get demanding at times and the effect it has on players is very less documented. The involvement with the sport at long stretches can often put a toll on mental strength, New Zealand Women’s cricketer Suzie Bates spoke about the mental issue that the game puts on in an interview with stuff.co.nz.
Bates claimed that cricket is one of the worst sports for mental health and explained how taxing it can be at times. She said:
“I remember coming home and it was the start of our season and I was like, whoa, I feel like I am at the end of my season and I have got to start again. I remember the first year I really struggled with that. After the first year, I learned that I had to be a lot better planned with my time off and actually block out times to completely get away from cricket,”
Bates felt that things are tougher for the younger players who often fall to the gruelling fixture schedules. She stated:
Sometimes we will get girls who come into that environment at 24 and they have never been exposed to the professional environment because the women’s programme isn’t like that. So there is kind of a bit of a shock and there is some learning as you go, rather than being ready when you hit that environment.”
“All of our players’ health and well-being is the most important thing and we must never lose sight of that in the intense and demanding world of professional sport.”
The sport of cricket has seen the demise of several careers so far with Marcus Trescothick and Jonathan Trott being the prime examples. As far as women’s cricket is concerned, England women’s team wicket-keeper Sarah Taylor’s anxiety relapse is an instance where the mental health of cricketers should be taken into consideration.
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