Depressed Vincent doubts he’ll return to Black Caps

 

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By NZPA, 10 Feb 2008 NZPA is a Roar Pro

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New Zealand batsman Lou Vincent says he doubts he will ever return to international cricket after revealing he is battling depression.

“For as long as I can remember I’ve been riddled with self-doubt, I’ve had no self-belief, and I’ve just been hating the guy I’ve seen in the mirror,” he told NZ’s Sunday Star Times.

The discarded Black Cap, who is now on anti-depressants and receiving help from a clinical psychologist, said he believed he had been suffering from the illness for some time before he was diagnosed.

“I remember so many days that should have been great days when I’ve gone home, slumped over a chair and thought `I just hate this and I hate myself’,” he said.

Vincent pulled out of all cricket before Christmas last year citing exhaustion but has since returned to domestic cricket with Auckland.

New Zealand Cricket selector and former fast bowler Dion Nash said he had seen similar cases before in cricket.

“If they weren’t `diagnosed’, I have known a few guys who should have been, including myself at times,” he told the Herald on Sunday.

Cricket was a tough game mentally and players had to stay calm, positive and in a neutral headspace, which was particularly difficult to do on overseas tours, he said.

The game often involved a player battling their own head more than the opposition and was particularly tough for players like Vincent who only had one chance to perform in each innings, Nash added.

Vincent made his Test debut with the Black Caps in 2001, scoring a century.

He played 23 Test matches and 102 one-day internationals.

His last Test was in South Africa in November last year.

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