Will Pucovski will take another indefinite break from cricket, having missed Victoria‘s last two one-day games

Cricket Victoria will provide Will Pucovski with “support and space” after his decision to take an indefinite break, writes DANIEL CHERNY.

Will Pucovski is taking another indefinite break from cricket. Picture: Morgan Hancock/Getty Images

Will Pucovski is taking another indefinite break from cricket.

The one-Test batter, who has suffered a spate of concussions and taken several extended stints away from the game, will miss Victoria’s upcoming Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania for personal reasons. He has not suffered a fresh concussion.

The prodigiously talented opener started the season with a half-century in a Marsh Cup match against NSW before totals of 5, 0, 9 and 37 across another one-dayer and two Shield games.

He has missed the Vics’ last two one-dayers against Western Australia and Tasmania, and has no exact return date to the game.

Pucovski’s last was match was against WA in the Sheffield Shield last week. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

“Player welfare is always our top priority; we’ll continue to work with Will to ensure he gets the support and space he needs and welcome him back when he‘s ready,” said Victorian high performance chief Graham Manou.

Pucovski, 24, made a half-century on Test debut against India in early 2021 but was ruled out of the following Test with a shoulder injury and hasn’t played again.

However he has remained in the thoughts of selectors, travelling to India as part of a Cricket Australia MRF Pace Foundation earlier this year.

Pucovski suffered what was at the time thought to be his 11th concussion during a pre-play warm-up in a Shield match in Adelaide last summer, however he later told News Corp that there were doubts as to whether some of his episodes were actually concussion.

“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 said.

Pucovski getting out against South Australia in that Shield match in Adelaide. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

“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 is 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.

A nasty hit playing for Australia A at Drummoyne Oval in 2020 against India has been one of many plaguing Pucovski’s career. Picture: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

“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.”

His domestic record is strong, with a batting average of 48.97 across 29 matches since his debut in early 2017.

Pucovski has taken a proactive approach to mental wellbeing, telling The Athlete Diaries podcast in 2020 that he was keen to help others.

“I’m doing a bit of a short course where I’m able to sort of teach the stuff in these mind skills and what not. I can hopefully go around to schools and different things and do that.”