Will Pucovski overcomes his demons to double down on Test debut

Will Pucovski had already thrown his hat in the ring for Test selection. Now he’s tossed in his bat, pads, gloves, pants, shoes, socks and the shirt off his back.

Victorian prodigy Will Pucovski celebrates his double-century against Western Australia in Adelaide. Picture: Getty Images

Will Pucovski had already thrown his hat in the ring for Test selection. Now he’s tossed in his bat, pads, gloves, pants, shoes, socks and the shirt off his back. A brave young Melbourne bloke dealing with mental health issues is set to make a hard-earned debut for Australia next month and given all he’s been through … there may not be a dry eye in the house.

With flowing blond hair to make Samson and/or Mark Occhilupo proud, and knowing a Test berth was there for the taking if he proved he deserved it, the 22-year-old Pucovski has posted scores of 255 not out and 202 in back-to-back innings for Victoria. His first marathon innings knocked on the selectors’ door; the second has kicked it so hard it fell off its hinges. Three former Australia captains, Ian Chappell, Kim Hughes and Michael Clarke, all said on Monday the 22-year-old run machine had to be chosen for the first Test against India next month.

It’s a spine-tingling development for Pucovski and all fans of Australian cricket. A Test debut from a prodigious and likeable young fellow is smothered in magic; the sense of something big and unstoppable getting started. But there will be an extra layer of meaning for Pucovski if he gets his baggy green cap in Adelaide for the December 17 Test … given all he’s been through. It will be a powerful moment if he walks out to bat for his country for the first time … given all he’s been through. If you battle mental health complications yourself, you understand Pucovski faces more than cricket balls every day of his life. If not, you can only imagine and admire what he goes through behind closed doors.

In a recent interview with The Risk Equation Podcast, Pucovski said of his mental wellbeing: “It has been a journey and it still is well and truly a journey. I’m still working on that sort of stuff every day and I’m doing different things to improve my life. I look back on it and I go, ‘I’ve made so many strides … but I’ve still got so far to go. I want to keep improving and I want to play for Australia and I want to do it for a long time, but I need to do probably more work than your Average Joe to make sure I’m mentally in a head space that can deal with all that stuff.”

As a cricketer, Pucovski has it. What’s it? It’s hard to define. But you know it when you see it in any young athlete who’s out of the norm. A young Ricky Ponting had it. A young Lleyton Hewitt had it. A young Cathy Freeman and Ian Thorpe had it. An air of destiny about them, as if they’re doing exactly what they have been born to do. Clarke said it the most simply and best: “Got to pick him.”

Pucovski was first chosen in an Australian squad for a series against Sri Lanka last year. He withdrew for personal reasons and took indefinite leave from the sport. He was on the brink of selection against Pakistan last November but asked to be overlooked “due to matters pertaining to mental wellbeing”, as Cricket Australia put it. But he’s returned from the COVID-19 lockdown in such thunderous form that he’s certain to be named this week in Australia’s 17-man Test squad for the Adelaide Test. From there, it will be a major shock if he doesn’t replace the out-of-form Joe Burns as David Warner’s opening partner in the final XI.

He’s batted for a combined 1005 minutes in his marathon innings against South Australia and Western Australia. He’s nailed the audition, becoming only the eighth player to record consecutive double-hundreds in the 128-year history of Sheffield Shield.