Tasmanian spinner Jarrod Freeman has full support of Cricket Tasmania following mental health break

Cricket Tasmania’s high performance boss is confident they can support spinner Jarrod Freeman through his current mental health enforced break.

Tasmanian spinner Jarrod Freeman is on a break from professional cricket due to mental health reasons. (Photo by Steve Bell/Getty Images)

Cricket Tasmania’s general manager of high performance Salliann Beams says the organisation will continue to play a key role in spinner Jarrod Freeman’s return to professional cricket following his decision to step away from the game due to mental health reasons.

Freeman, who announced himself as the Tigers number one spinner during their run to a Sheffield Shield final last season, is currently on a leave of absence with the organisation citing mental health reasons in a statement released on Thursday.

Tasmanian Tigers General Manager of High Performance Salliann Beams is confident the organisation can support Freeman during his break. Picture: Chris Kidd

Speaking to media on Friday, Beams said they would continue to support Freeman and said they had taken a number of measures to ensure both parties remain in contact.

“We’re really comfortable because we’ve taken the measures to fully support Jarrod through this process,” Beams said.

“It’s obvious we’re not comfortable in where we’re at for him and there’s always ways we want to look and make sure that we’re catching these things early but what Jarrod needs now is that break so he can focus on himself, so we can get him back to live in his daily life as easily as he can.

“We play a key role and that’s really important that we express that today because we are currently having weekly meetings between myself, our player development manager, our team doctor and our psychologist.

“That will happen all the way through this process to make sure that things are heading in the right direction and then potentially when things don’t go the right way that we’ve got the support around him to make sure we can get him back on track.

“It’s always difficult. Every case in mental health is so different and it’s not linear. That’s one thing I’ve experienced over the last 20 years but I’m really comfortable where we’re at and I know that he’s really appreciative of how we are helping him too.”

Beams confirmed Freeman had returned home to northern Tasmania and added that part of the process for his hopeful return to the Tigers set-up was a return to club cricket.

Freeman is a former Australian under-19 representative. (Photo by Steve Bell/Getty Images)

“He’s been through a lot over the last few months and he’s had to face up to this,” she said.

“He is now back up north around his family and we’re putting a program in place that will help transition and keep him up there until he gets himself going in the right direction.

“The aim is to get him back to playing club cricket. That’s kind of the first goal, but we’ll work through that process. I think the key thing for us is and what we even get asked about internally is, what are the deadlines and boundaries around this? There isn’t any.

“We just take each week as it comes. But we do have that goal in the back of our mind (a return to cricket).”