The growing importance of mental health in cricket amid a pandemic

Nine years ago, I wrote an article in the Financial Times expressing my views and concerns on the impact of mental illness among sportspeople, predominantly cricketers. In the years since, mental health and its impact on sports have not disappeared, especially in this unprecedented era of Covid, where its presence seems to have been amplified and, sadly, cricketers seem to be among the most affected.

Mental health awareness and attempts to address it are on the rise, most recently with two very high profile sportsmen; like Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka who both point out their struggles and struggles around mental health.

This journey into the depths of the dark confines of the mind has been more open since the start of the pandemic with the numerous blockades around the world, with people having to endure what is basically forced incarceration in their own homes. While this may have prevented or prolonged further infections, the mental impact has undoubtedly been catastrophic for some, myself included.

Having suffered from depression and anxiety for most of my adult life, I thought it would be a walk in the park, a few weeks locked up in the house with the family. Yet it was very different from anything I had experienced before, a surreal feeling of living in a bad dream, and one that you can’t wake up from. I had the support of my family and friends, albeit virtual, most of the time.

While the world had mostly come to a standstill, there were people working behind the scenes to get the sport back on the road, in the safest and most secure way possible. How could sport implement realistic strategies for safety and stability amidst uncertainty?

Cricket and football in the UK were among the first to start over, albeit in empty and lifeless stadiums. The amount of crowd interaction at cricket has thankfully increased since then, due to Covid rules and a successful ongoing vaccination campaign orchestrated by the UK government.

Although for me, I still wanted to know why the players were suffering and how the pandemic affected their mental health, the most recent case being Ben Stokes, I asked my questions to Professor Nick Peirce, the Chief Medical Officer for England and Wales. Cricket scoreboard.

What is the main role of the Chief Medical Officer?

The role of Chief Medical Officer is to help the game manage systems and personnel to minimize the impact of injury and illness while playing. This role also oversees a specific care department whose job is to collect and deliver evidence-based proactive safety and wellbeing systems and wellbeing support.

In your time in the role, what has changed regarding mental health wellbeing in cricket. How would you characterize the main differences from 10-15 years ago, when players like Marcus Trescothick and Michael Yardy opened up about their plight with how Ben Stokes sadly suffered from similar?

The main difference was the reduction of any stigma and the openness of culture. It could be said that psychological support should be the right word for a safe environment. This has enabled systems to be implemented with the Cricket Performance Academy (CPA) now requiring clinical psychology mentoring and the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) offering a wide range of proactive programs. The game now has many more ways to identify warning signs and a proactive rest and rotation system that has been more widely accepted.

With Covid now impacting everyone’s daily life, how has this impacted players and staff involved in tuning?

It was a particularly busy time when the normal pressures of elite sport added to the constant low-level social and organizational tensions and threats. These include the risk of a positive [Covid-19] tests, extended quarantine periods, large teams, and are amplified by the removal of the support provided to players and staff for some of their basic psychological needs such as family and ties to society.

What aspects do you take into consideration when preparing bio-safe environments and evaluating risk management for players / staff, regarding their respective mental well-being?

The newness of these bio-safe / bubble environments has long since vanished and the need to meet the psychological needs of players, support and operations personnel must be planned. This means coming home when possible, accessing their families and significant others, the ability to have some space and autonomy, including green space and connecting with society out of the bubble. We must incorporate these and the basics such as low-risk activities, be it golf, meeting friends, shopping or dining al fresco. There must be basic rules to operate, but with the aspect of compliance and long-term well-being this is not possible with a rigid system, but must be one that allows responsible behavior and can be flexible with risks assessed on the ground.

Having worked in both football (at Nottingham Forest) and cricket, do you think cricketers are most affected by mental health problems, and if so, what reason would you give for that?

There is no doubt that cricket ticks many of the boxes that would provide stress and could challenge any underlying resilience or well-being issues. However, I don’t think cricketers’ mental health problems are any different or more prevalent. They have simply been more widely publicized and there is more transparency. There are many wellness issues in football and often help is delayed or covered up, as I know many footballers believe that being labeled with a mental health problem will impact their career and subsequent transfers.

Finally, with the upcoming Ashes series, players have been asking for families to accompany them. Is this something you are looking to facilitate with the Australian Government and Cricket Australia? Especially with the amount of time players are expected to spend alone in bio-safe environments and with the potential to impact their mental health, social and family interactions will be critical to their mental well-being.

Yes, the work is underway and the ECB at all levels is working closely with Cricket Australia and the Australian government to facilitate what we believe are the essential requirements to support their psychological well-being. This includes family, partners and significant others and is a key part of planning.

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