What involves mind once you consider cricket? Perhaps it's a picturesque scene on an English village green – people sitting on deck chairs and checkered blankets. Traditional cricket tea The genteel players in sparkling whites shouted “Howzt?!” Watching chanting now and again?
The stereotype of A gentleman, Mainly English However, the sport could also be light years away from reality.
Except for one Possibly punishment – And exclusive – Working culture, cricket requires a variety of endurance, flexibility and skill. It is such a tricky game, actually, that Test cricket is commonly called.Final exam” Research from Loughborough University Found that A profession in skilled cricket has “highs and lows that trigger a player's mental health and result in mental health problems and poor performance”.
of Freddie Flintoff Latest documentsField of Dreams on Tour – the follow-up to the unique 2022 series for which he formed a cricket team from an unlikely group of teenage boys in his hometown of Preston, UK – is a reminder of the complexity of sport's relationship with the mind. is The health of its players.
Former international cricketer and coach of the England cricket squad, Flintoff isn’t any stranger. Mental health problems – And he’s Spoken publicly About my experience of depression and struggle with it Bulimia During and after his cricket profession.
The second season of Field of Dreams chronicles Flintoff's journey as he takes his team on a cricket tour to India, following their ups and downs and showing how sports and cricket can support mental health. are and might sometimes cause harm.
Flintoff and his team aren't the one ones facing mental health challenges. The history of cricket is affected by mental health crises and even cases of suicide.
A cricket author for over thirty years David Frith Researched suicide of cricket players, published two books on this issue. His 2001 book concluded, “Cricket has an alarming suicide rate. Among international players in England and many other countries, it is higher than the national average for all sports.”
Nature or nurture
Frith was sure it was. “damage” Of cricket that has influenced the players probably the most – and it could come all the way down to something.
A Great Britain study found that “all participants reflected negatively on the end of their careers, with a sense of loss and resentment that characterized the post-retirement period”.
Many elite athletes have a robust but narrow sense of identity – sport is one big thing. Part of who they are. Once players retire from the sport, they might feel like they've lost their job in addition to an element of themselves. Transfer Can be the identical from energetic player to retirement. Sad process. nevertheless, A study This suggests that the danger of depression and suicide might be buffered by a supportive family, which boosts athletes' sense of identity outside of sport.
Elite athletes Those combating withdrawal from sports may turn to alcohol, drugs, and gambling to address their sense of loss. 2023 study suggests that although athletes will not be necessarily at higher risk of suicide than the overall population, various aspects, corresponding to abuse of performance-enhancing substances, sports-related stress, sports injuries, drug abuse, emotional disorders, sports I Mental and Physical Illnesses. , putting them prone to suicide during energetic careers and retirement.
Opening to closing stigma
But stigma Mental health is slowly falling apart as increasingly more athletes open up about their depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.
Reacting to the death of retired cricketer Graham Thorpe in August 2024, former India cricketer Robin Uthappa revealed his mental health issues. He said
I recently heard about Graham Thorpe and a number of other other cricketers who’ve ended their lives because of depression. In the past too we’ve got heard of athletes and cricketers who’ve ended their lives because of clinical depression. I actually have been there personally. I do know for a undeniable fact that it is just not a reasonably journey. It's weak, it's tiring and it's heavy. It appears like a burden.
Uthappa is just not alone.
Retired cricketer Phil Tufnell talked about He struggled together with his own mental health, saying the national team “didn't know how to support players who battled mental health issues during their careers”. Indian international cricketer Virat Kholi also opened up is open about His mental health deteriorated after suffering the yips during a tour of England in 2014. Khuli said:
And yet getting off the bed and just getting dressed for the sport and going on the market and going through it, knowing you're going to fail, was something that consumed me. It totally destroyed me.
But not all former players are critical of the sport's response to players' mental health. In 2016, former skilled cricketer Graeme Fowler spoke about his experience of clinical depression, Discuss it Cricket is much ahead of other sports in coping with mental health.
Support, nevertheless, appears to be there Reacting – This is provided when there’s already an issue for players quite than implementing preventative measures from the beginning of their profession.
But players' willingness to open up about their experiences could make a difference.
In 2022, England Test captain Ben Stokes came back from Mental health break. “It was like I had a glass bottle that I kept pouring my emotions into. Eventually, it got too full and just burst,” Stokes said. told BBC Breakfast.
For example, mental health initiatives are on the rise in cricket. charity Opening cricket It was founded in memory of wicketkeeper Alex Miller, who took his own life in 2012.
While Flintoff and colleagues are working hard to finish the stigma, cricket officials have a responsibility to create supportive environments that nurture players' mental health during and after their cricket careers.