Test contender withdraws from Australia A game due to mental health issues

Michael Id say its a reflection of a lot of work places and a larger percentage of sufferers than people think or men report in the general at the work place in all levels of westernized life and vocations nowadays. I think cricket/entertainment industries just have more coverage/exposure of it and cricketers obviously have accessible top counselors and doctors around which a lot of people don't always have . Its great it is being highlighted more particularly for men who historically haven't stepped forward or had access in the past . it needs to be highlighted in less glamorous vocations and all lifestyles but cricket is helping across the board. Acceptance of the health issue is certainly changing as time goes on which is really good.

Real shame for maddison, mental illness issues must be severe as his shield performances were pretty good and he had an opening here but in some respects his honesty must be reported if he feels anxiety for being selected and just not ready. I commend his honesty as you wouldn't have known it via his form. He was right there with Marsh as two of the strongest opening shield candidates. I had him in front of Head and Carey in terms of shield form this season . Hoping he feels up to a speedy return. He's clearly a very good cricketer when all is going well for him let alone even this season with issues going on

It's one of the reasons why I often think that while any player would love to get picked for the test team, I think picking them when they clearly aren't ready for it can backfire badly for the player themselves. In Maddinson's case, he wasn't in very good form at the time in Shield cricket, and to expect him to suddenly turn that form around in test cricket was a bit naive, and it can't be good for the player themselves to be picked when not in form, fail miserably and get dropped. Would have been better for him not to have been picked in the first place.

Last time Maddinson was picked for tests he clearly wasn't ready - he wasn't even confident in his own game - and he looked all at sea. He then took a break from cricket after being dropped. The timing of this worries me a bit. Nic expressed surprise at being selected for Australia A and said he didn't feel he'd earned the spot. I wonder how much the additional pressure of being put in the frame for tests again has contributed to this.

Well it could go either way. They might be speaking up because they feel they have the support to do so, or they might be needing breaks because they aren’t getting enough support. Hard to know from outside. It could be coincidence and/or partly unrelated to cricket.

Given that my doctor reckons 95% of the population experience mental health issues at some point, it doesn't seem like a major deal. Take time out recover and come back when you're ready. People don't speculate when you have a broken arm but if they don't have visible proof of injury, they love to create a story.

I’m not saying it isn’t work related; all I’m saying is that we shouldn’t simply assume that it is. None of are privy to the individuals’ particular circumstances, so making evidence-less assumptions is highly unhelpful.

Was going to make the same comment danwain regarding Victoria. Pucovski, Maxwell and now Maddinson all claim "mental health" issues after playing for Victoria....what is going on?!

Better wellbeing programs?

Has it? I hadn’t read that he had stated he was feeling rattled from that. Thanks for the update. We now understand what is behind the mental health issue.

You guys forget he was knocked conscious last month and the short ball since he broke his arm has rattled him

Black Dog estimates at least once each year 20% of Australian's suffer a mental health issue. Of course "mental health" can be a very broad spectrum as to what it is manifesting itself as (nervousness through to depression, for example). Being in the public eye can of course heighten the reluctance to acknowledge/deal with it. Three Victorian cricketers from a squad of 20[?] is probably about average for the population as a whole.

“If I was CA, I’d be surveying players to find out what are the causes of mental health issues.” Most larger organisations have wellbeing programs and I notice that many companies communicate with employees on their program every couple of weeks or so. CA and State associations should be doing this already; I’m sure they are which is why we are seeing their employees flag issues they see as requiring attention. They could do a survey, but it may be a more nuanced discussion that is required (and I’m sure you didn’t mean survey as a questionnaire or the like); it’s a rolling/ongoing communication of wellbeing between employees and their professional trained liasion contact within the workplace. That person should be red flagging back up the line if feedback from discussion is showing a common theme of worklace disatisfaction/pressure. I’m working on EOI right now where employee wellbeing programs/approach is quite a substantial component of the “weighting” given to being granted the project (i.e. in addition to expertise, experience etc).

Cricket, like all sport, at the end of the day is show bizz. It's entertainment and mental health issues in the entertainment industry tend to get noticed more than your average persons because it's all so very, very public. It's a double whammy really. Feel like crap and do it publicly. Wow. That's harsh. One of the most confronting things I've ever seen was Gary McDonald's (Norman Gunston) public breakdown on live TV. .. Anyway, wishing Nic all the best for a speedy recovery. Not for the cricket, just for his own sake.

It could be workplace related, but in my experience whilst a particular issue/circumstance/situation can trigger the slow slide into mental health issues (often cited as depression, but it isn't exclusively about that manifestation/"label"), there are often a combination of inter-related factors at play. Ultimately it's a state of mind, of "being"; minimisation of self worth and loss of confidence often being key outcomes, but these usually being triggered by other causal factors. It's complex and certainly not lineally causal - i.e. to use cricket selection as an example: I wasn't selected, therefore I'm not at ease with myself and my ability to function in the way I once did. But I agree that from what I am reading with different players, it is being recognised in the workplace and by the individual as something that is progressing as an issue, and that is a good thing that positive actions are being taken to manage it.

No doubt it could be something that exists outside of the workplace, but there have been plenty of studies done that confirm that mental health issues can and do arise out of the workplace. So no, it's not a misunderstanding, it's a determining factor that can drive someone over the edge. Further to that, you have three players who are in the same team that are suffering or have suffered from mental health issues, if that occurred at any other workplace questions would be asked, this really should be no different.

But maybe more people shouldn’t continue to work. That’s kind of my point. And at the end of the day none of us have the slightest clue about Maddison’s mental health. So we really shouldn’t be publicly speculating on what we think the cause is.

It is interesting, I hadn't thought about it until you mentioned it just then, but all three recent players to cite mental health issues are in the Victorian system. I wonder if there is something different going on there to other states.

True, but most people struggling through mental health problems would likely do so while still continuing to work, unless it's a complete breakdown that requires hospitalisation, and there's no indication of such on any of these cases. The fact that working through mental health issues requires stepping back from cricket would suggest that there is some relation there. Not necessarily the "cause", but maybe something about it doesn't help.

You make a very good point Christo, it may not have anything to do with the workplace, but how can they know? If I was CA, I'd be surveying players to find out what are the causes of mental health issues. I don't doubt there'll be a lot of different reasons offered, but CA needs to know if there are any issues directly relating to the workplace/working conditions. If so, they clearly have an obligation to minimise the impact this has on player mental health. More to the point, I'd hope they'd do a similar survey every year. Clearly they have lot of people managing players physical health, it's surely incumbent on CA to do likewise with their mental health.