Beyond The Boundary:
A Mental Game
In the first of a five part series on the health of the game, Tom Simmonds looks at how stigmas, generations unwilling to talk and now an appetite for change has shaped cricket's image as mentally taxing.
Adam Gilchrist once said she was the best wicketkeeper in the world, male or female. She pulled on the England shirt 226 times chalking up 6533 runs whilst her lighting fast hands behind the stumps won her a legion of fans from across the globe.
From the outside looking in, cricket was a game that came easy to Sarah Taylor. She was at the very top of her game with seemingly nothing able to trouble her, yet in 2016 everything changed.
The World T20 that year had been a poor tournament for her and the team and soon after the conclusion of that campaign, it was announced that Taylor would be taking a break from the game.
She returned and won England a home World Cup in 2017 and made several other appearances whilst both Taylor and the ECB managed her workload but in September she made the tough decision to quit the game due to her long term anxiety issues.
Whilst it was an undeniably gutting moment for cricket fans it was a bright moment for the future of the game as once again it thrust the discussion around mental health in cricket back into the spotlight.
Will Pucovski, Glenn Maxwell and Nic Maddinson have all taken breaks to focus on their mental health in recent times whilst The Edge film has revealed the toll England’s hunt to become the top-ranked Test side in the world took on the team.
The current focus on mental health has made it a renewed focus for the ECB who have supported the Every Mind Matters campaign.
This move has been praised by Sarah Taylor: “As someone who has always struggled with anxiety, I know first-hand how painful and isolating it can feel. It’s a real privilege to be a part of Every Mind Matters and to stand alongside so many amazing role models.”
And this openness is something which should be celebrated according to Mark Boyns, the head of cricket mental health charity, OpeningUp. He told us: “If the best players in the world or seemingly some of the most happy or successful people can have interactions and struggles then it normalises it and makes people realise it’s something that could impact everyone.
“So they’ve been really useful and hopefully that’s encouraged people who play cricket at whatever level to think that it isn’t weak to speak about these things.”
Cricket is often seen as a hard sport for mental health, this view is supported by Neil Graney, lecturer at Durham University who has done studies on mental health within elite sport. He said:
“Increased professional status leads to increased competition for places, meaning a higher emphasis/evidence on OCD type behaviour such as perfectionism. Given the longevity of cricket matches, the psychological focus is key. It is physically and mentally draining, yet the players rarely get a break from the sport.
“In any 12 months, top English players will spend 10+ plus months of the year in a ‘game’ or ‘tour’ environment. Those tours means lots of travel, lots of time far away from family. Whilst a team sport, particularly when players tour the sub-continent, cultural issues, security concerns and boredom also play a role in regards to mental health.”
Click play to listen to Mark Boyn's full interview.
Mark Boyns though argues the amount of discussion around mental health is a positive: “I would caution the idea that cricket is a cause in itself and it may be that it’s just down to the fact that there’s more awareness of the issues.
“I’d say our sport in a lot of ways ahead of others in people being open and able to talk about when they encounter problems.”
The ECB have been keen to stress how seriously they are now taking mental health concerns: “The ECB takes the mental wellbeing of its staff and players very seriously and has a number of initiatives in place to ensure people feel comfortable to talk about mental health.
“Within the England men’s and women’s senior teams, a group of medical and coaching support staff meet regularly to discuss player wellbeing, both physical and mental. All players within the England setup have access to psychological support 24-hours-a-day.”
But there is a sense that these efforts aren’t filtering down to the grassroots game. I spoke with a club cricketer (not pictured), who wished to remain anonymous, about his problems within the game. He said: “Cricket is a numbers game in many ways and that can cause some serious issues. Scoring runs and taking wickets isn’t subjective, the stats are clear as day. While that may be excellent when it’s going well it means when you are struggling it’s painfully clear to see. I almost felt like I didn’t belong there, I was with great friends but it didn’t feel like I had earned a position in the team on the field.
Whilst he ultimately overcame his struggles he didn’t feel that he received enough support from those within the game: “I was lucky, I was in a place where I could seek professional help and had a good support network around me. But some others I’ve seen have almost been left to struggle. Friends are too awkward to talk about it and often there isn’t processes in place to help. League’s aren’t set up for this and many clubs simply don’t have the resources to offer help.
“OpeningUp are doing workshops at local clubs which is a great thing, but I say more has to be done by the ECB. New schemes must be put in place and advertised properly. If there is help out there no-one knows it.”
The ECB though are keen to stress that they are working to improve this: “In the recreational game, a club-level educational programme is in its pilot phase and through our South Asian Action Plan we have started training female South Asian community activators to become mental health first aiders. Additionally, many First-Class Counties, County Boards and Foundations run regional mental health support and awareness programmes.”
Whilst there might be some important work going on, as Mark Boyns says many club cricketers are just “left to their own devices.”
The sheer nature of cricket as the most individual of all the team sports will always make it a mentally tough game, especially at the most elite levels, yet there is hope.
For the first time in many years, there now seems to be a real appetite for change from those at the game's top tables. As long as they keep encouraging change both financially and raising awareness at the elite and grassroots level then we could be on the cusp of major change.
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