Cricket 2022: Health advice gives Will Pucovski hope as he reveals brain reaction to concussions
Plagued by concussions in the past, young star Will Pucovski says startling new evidence around the brain’s defence mechanism could fast track his chances of playing for Australia again.
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Will Pucovski’s chances of playing Test cricket again have been boosted by medical research that has shown he has been concussed less than half the times he first feared.
When the 24-year-old was ruled out of a Sheffield Shield match back in February after being inadvertently hit in the head by a volleyball, it was declared Pucovski’s 11th concussion, and questions were immediately asked about whether he would be forced to retire.
Those thoughts definitely crossed Pucovski’s mind, but closer examination has revealed that the reaction he was having to many of his head knocks wasn’t actually concussion, but an anxious response his body was having to the fact he’d suffered a couple of severe concussions as a young athlete.
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Pucovski heads to India for an intensive 10-day training camp early next month not looking too far ahead to next year’s Test tour, but armed with renewed confidence that he can continue to chase his dream of playing for Australia without risking his long-term health.
“Because I’ve had some pretty bad concussions in the past which have knocked me around quite a bit and … I’ve missed school for extended periods or I’ve been struggling to get going for months at a time … it’s been explained to me that your brain is pretty complex if you do get head knocks,” Pucovski told News Corp.
“They might not necessarily be concussions, but they’ll present as symptoms of concussion because your brain goes into overdrive to protect you based on your previous incidents.
“When it was explained to me like that it actually made a lot of sense to me, because, not to compare the two, but if someone had been in a really bad car crash and a car comes flashing past, they’re going to feel quite anxious.
“The hard bit for me has been at those times when you are getting symptoms of concussion that are real symptoms, trying to distinguish between the two when you’re obviously in a bit of heightened stress and have had it multiple times — it’s a hard thing to distinguish, ‘is this real or s this an extreme reaction of anxiety?’
“I’ve been doing a lot of work with a lot of experts to try and manage the situation as best as possible when it does come up.
“But knowing firstly that I’ve done a million tests that have shown that all my function and brain stuff cognitively is all good and that I’ve probably only had four or five concussions — even if some of them have been pretty bad — does make you feel a lot more comfortable than 11 or 12.”
Having never played in the sub-continent before, Pucovski has a golden opportunity to train and play practice matches in the conditions next month alongside a number of other aspiring Australian players.
A full season of cricket for Victoria would give him a shot at making his Test return in India next February, although Pucovski has learnt to only take things day by day.
“I think I’ve really narrowed my focus to go to India in 10 days’ time, get the most out of myself over there, get back and then it’ll be just whatever the next game is,” he said.
“Try and get the most out of myself in those little moments. And I guess the big moments will come and they’ll take care of themselves when they do get there. That’s all I can really do at the moment to get myself in the best physical and mental shape to succeed.”
Pucovski admits among the toughest challenges he has faced over an agonising period where he suffered a head knock at the start of the summer which ruled him out of the Ashes, and then the volleyball incident upon his return, is suffering from the overwhelming feeling he is letting his teammates down.
The Victorian one-Test batting sensation concedes there were “days — and even weeks” — when he contemplated walking away from cricket altogether.
“For the true concussions I’ve had, they can be pretty horrendous at times and take you to some pretty bad places where you’re thinking, ‘is all this worth it and do I want to keep going?’” Pucovski said.
“Then there’s a lot of anxiety around letting people down which has been really hard to be honest, probably one of the toughest parts of it.
“Then you’ve got your girlfriend, your family who are worried about you and you’re stressed about all these different things. There’s definitely been days and even weeks where you’ve just been thinking, ‘this isn’t all worth it, there’s other things I can do in life where you don’t have the issue of head knocks and what not to deal with.’
“But you definitely come out of that after a while and when you do bounce back, one of the things I’ve always been told is, ‘you’ll never understand the light if you haven’t seen the dark.’
“I try to use that (to say to myself), I’ve been there, but I can come back and I can do well. That’s something I have proven to myself, which makes me feel confident I’m doing the right thing and I’m in the right place.”
AB’S PLEA: WE MUST PROTECT PUC AT ALL COSTS
- By Robert Craddock
Allan Border has called on cricket manufacturers to develop a helmet capable of protecting Will Pucovski, admitting he felt sorry for bowlers who target him.
Batting enigma Pucovski, who has suffered more than 11 concussions, is back on Australia’s radar after being named by the national selectors on Monday in a group of eight youngsters who will visit India next month for specialist tuition on subcontinental decks.
Pucovski, 24, has played just one Test but with Usman Khawaja and David Warner both 35 he remains a player of great interest to the national selectors.
“There’s got to be someone out there who can build a helmet that takes the impact out and the brains not so scattered around,’’ Border said in Brisbane on Monday at the field named in his honour.
Border was speaking at a ceremony where Border Field’s eye-pleasing white pickets were placed up for sale – for $500 to $5000 – for fans to have their names placed on the same picket as a legend such as Border, individually, or with a current Queensland player.
It was a case of the rock star backing the star rock as Powderfinger front man and cricket nut Bernard Fanning paid to have his name on the picket named after batting rock Border, with funds from the project to assist areas such as female cricket, Indigenous health and disadvantaged youth.
“Surely there’s some way of putting this kid in a helmet that he’s going to be safe and so that he gets hit in the head and it is not an issue,’’ Border said of Pucovski.
“And he can just then show his skills because he’s obviously got the skills. I feel sorry for opposition teams because you are going to attack him with bouncers aren’t you? This is just the way it is. It is not like the rugby (union) days where if you are 90 years old you were a yellow tag and are not allowed to be tackled.
“You cannot have a yellow tag that says no bouncers. He could be something very, very special. Because it’s a confidence thing to like, he must be continually worried about getting hit in the head. So if that’s in the back of my head, every time we go to bat, it’s hard to show your skills off.’’
Border went into bat for the 50 over international which provided him with one of his greatest triumphs – the 1987 World Cup – claiming he considers it a better game than T20 cricket.
“There’s just too much cricket being played with all the T20s leagues that are popping up. If it was me, I’d be less is best. So less cricket, but more meaningful cricket throughout the summer. That way, all three formats could flourish.
“But if you’ve got 9, 10 11 domestic T20 competitions played then you’re playing international cricket on top of that. It’s got to put pressure on the system. The news of (England’s) Ben Stokes retiring (from 50 over cricket) at 31 … I mean, he won them the last World Cup last time. He’s not gonna be playing on this one.
“It doesn’t seem right, because I personally think 50 over creates a superior game (to T20). I like T20 and what it brings to the table but 50 over for me if you’re playing a short form is the better game.
“Thankfully, no one’s really talking too much about (the future of) Test cricket.’’
Aussie star’s grim prediction for future of ODI cricket
—Robert Craddock
Usman Khawaja believes 50-over cricket “is dying a slow death’’ and has continued his crusade for private ownership to spruce up the ailing T20 Big Bash.
Asked about the retirement from England Test captain Ben Stokes from the 50-over game at age 31, resurgent batsman Khawaja concedes the format which Kerry Packer once used to enliven the game was now on death’s door outside its four-yearly World Cup sugar shot.
“I think personally one day cricket is dying a slow death,’’ said Khawaja, who claimed the format was the one players’ found toughest on their bodies.
“But at the end of the day, there’s still one-day cricket to be had. There’s still the World Cup, which I think is really fun.
“But other than that, even myself personally, I’m probably not into one day cricket as much either.
“You got Test cricket, the pinnacle. You’ve got T20 leagues around the world, great entertainment, everyone loves it. Then there’s one day cricket and I feel like that’s probably the third one out of all of them.
“Something has to give. T20 cricket is here to stay definitely. Test cricket is here to stay definitely. What happens to one-day cricket then?’’
Khawaja was speaking to promote the opening of general public ticket sales for the new Australian summer featuring Test series against South Africa and the West Indies and a string of white ball matches.
The opening day of the Gabba Test against South Africa has outstripped Boxing Day as this summer’s most in-demand ticket among Australian Cricket Family members ahead of the opening of general public sales on Friday.
A small endorsement of Khawaja’s theory that T20 was here to stay at all levels came soon after he spoke when Queensland Cricket announced that a pair of Indian Premier League pace bowlers – Chetan Sakaria (Rajasthan Royals) and Mukesh Choudhary (Chennia Super Kings) – would arrived in Brisbane next month to be part of new-look T20 Max series in Brisbane.
India’s influence on the game is such that IPL owners have snapped all six franchises in the new T20 league in South Africa.
That league, along with a similar competition in the United Arab Emirates, will overlap the Big Bash and the twin threat has convinced Khawaja its time to take the leap into private ownership.
“I still think there’s a fork in the road for the Big Bash,’’ said Khawaja.
“I think the Big Bash needs to look towards privatising because the money needs to come from somewhere and players won’t come unless you’re paying the right money.
“There’s other tournaments that are starting up that are privatised if you don’t keep up with that. And there’s a small opportunity window for the Big Bash of privatise the next few years. I’m afraid that if we don’t do that, that will fall behind.
“The UAE or South Africa might take over. You’ll see players not list for the (Big Bash) draft. And I’ve talked to a couple of they haven’t looked at draft because they want to spend Christmas at home and then they’re going away and playing in the UAE entitlement.
“That’s a red flag for me already. I talk to (CA chief executive) Nick (Hockley) all the time I keep pushing him so you got to privatise it.’’
“You got to start the process.’’
LANGER MYSTERY AS CANES REJECT BBL DREAM TEAM
Brett Stubbs
The coaching future of Justin Langer remains a mystery with the Hobart Hurricanes set to unveil its set up for BBL12 without the former national coach.
The Hurricanes dream team of Ricky Ponting and Langer remains just that with the Mercury understanding Tigers coach Jeff Vaughan will be announced as Hobart coach on Friday.
Langer resigned from the men’s national coaching role after Cricket Australia only offered him a once-off six-month contract extension after retaining the Ashes and guiding Australia to its first T20 World Cup.
It is believed he is still not ready to head back into coaching yet, even with his great mate Ponting as the Hurricanes head of strategy.
Appointing Vaughan will be something of a backflip for the Hurricanes, with Cricket Tasmanian previously adamant it wanted a separate Tigers and Hobart coach after the same set up failed under Adam Griffith.
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Vaughan, a former assistant under Langer, will be supported by former South Australian and Strikers coach Darren Berry in a strategy and assistant coaching role and former Australian one-day all-rounder James Hopes as bowling coach.
Ponting already has a strong relationship with Hopes.
Hopes is the bowling coach for the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League, where Ponting is the head coach.
Berry also has extensive T20 coaching experience as not only was he in charge at the Strikers and a Sydney Sixers assistant coach, but was Shane Warne’s assistant in the IPL when Warne led the Rajasthan Royals to the first ever IPL title.
The Hurricanes have a strong list on paper already with the likes of skipper Matthew Wade, Ben McDermott, D’Arcy Short, Nathan Ellis and Riley Meredith all having represented Australia in the shortest format, while Tim David has become one of T20’s hottest commodities given his ability to hit boundaries from ball one late in an innings.
But the Hurricanes plans for imports took a beating on Thursday, with Hobart securing pick eight — the last selection — in the weighted lotteries for the upcoming inaugural BBL draft.
It means the Hurricanes will have last pick in the platinum (round one), platinum and gold (round two) and silver and bronze (round four), but first pick in gold and silver (round three).
Players announced for the BBL draft so far:
Afghanistan: Rashid Khan, Qais Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Waqarullah Ishaq, Izharulhaq Naveed, Naveen Ul Haq Murid, Hazratullah Zazai
New Zealand: Colin Munro, Todd Astle
South Africa: Faf du Plessis, Marchant de Lange, Rilee Rossouw, David Wiese (also Namibia)
West Indies: Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Sheldon Cottrell, Chemar Holder, Akeal Hosein, Evin Lewis, Anderson Phillip, Khary Pierre, Ravi Rampaul, Sherfane Rutherford, Jayden Seales, Kevin Sinclair, Tion Webster, Nyeem Young.
Originally published as Cricket 2022: Health advice gives Will Pucovski hope as he reveals brain reaction to concussions
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