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Opinion

Should Will Pucovski retire or be retired?

Roar Rookie
9th December, 2020
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Roar Rookie
9th December, 2020
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I’ve thought long and hard about whether to post my thoughts but this whole Will Pucovski situation troubles me greatly.

I woke up the other day (I’m back in England) to read that Will had to retire hurt after being hit by a short ball again and has ‘mild’ concussion symptoms.

What rubbish that is. You’re either concussed or you are not.

I gather that this is the eighth or ninth time he’s been concussed in his career – and he’s only 22 years of age.

I am not for one moment criticising or denigrating Will in any way.

I gather he’s a lovely young man and obviously a wonderfully gifted young player.

But he clearly has an issue playing and dealing with the short ball.

I gather he turned his head and ducked into the one the other day.

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I love my cricket and have read, listened, watched, played (badly) and umpired it for most of my life. Just about everyone I respect in our great game says the same thing.

When the balls short you simply have to keep your eyes on it for as long as possible and then sway out of the way.

Easier said than done but it has to be done.

Will obviously hasn’t mastered this technique.

He isn’t the first and won’t be the last. But should he be selected to play at the highest level when he has this fundamental flaw in his game?

His card will be well and truly marked by every other Test-playing nations.

Will Pucovski

Will Pucovski (Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)

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I can’t help thinking about next year’s Ashes series.

England will definitely be coming over there with at least two 90mp/h bowlers.

Should Will be playing, he will almost certainly be facing Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Olly Stone bombing him constantly.

Is that fair on him? And to be fair, is it fair on the Englishmen?

What happens if Archer hits him and Will has to go off when everyone knows that he has a serious weakness (not courage, he’s got plenty of that) against the short ball.

I can’t help but think back to the 2013/14 Ashes tour and the Jonathan Trott/Mitchell Johnson situation. Mitchell had seriously worried Jonathan in the one dayers a few months earlier.

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Everyone knew that Trott was seriously troubled by him but picked him anyway to bat at number 3 at the Gabba.

It obviously didn’t end well and Jonathan was on the next plane home in a seriously troubled mental state.

Why was he picked in the first place? It’s like he was being set up to fail.

Even more concerning for me is Will’s well documented issues with his mental health.

We all know what the build up to an Ashes series is like.

Should Will be picked, all the talk in the media will be about how will he handle the bombardment to come.

Again, is this fair on both the batsman or the opposition?

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At best surely Will should be left to play grade/shield cricket for the next few years and some expert coaching on the weaknesses in his game.

He’s still only 22. He has plenty of time.

The other option is that he retire and do something else with his life.

Just about every other sport in the world is finally starting to wake up to the dangers of head trauma and the effects it has on the players.

Indeed this morning I’ve read about the terrible dilemma of Steve Thompson, England’s hooker in their 2001 Rugby World Cup win.

He’s 42 years old and can’t remember anything about the game.

He struggles to remember his wife’s name some days and has been informed it’ll probably only get worse.

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He received multiple head knocks throughout his career but as was the case in his era, you played on.

His main concern is that his young children won’t remember him as a World Cup Winner but as a shambling wreck who can’t look after himself.

It’s absolutely heartbreaking.

So my main point is the cricket authorities should step in a make the incredibly difficult decision and tell Will he won’t, under any circumstances, be picked for Australia.

The cricket family will look after and support him in what ever he wants to do with his life.

At least eight concussions playing cricket at 22 years of age is too many.

In 40 years time it would be nice to think that Will has led a fruitful and enjoyable life, not as a sportsman who can’t remember if he batted or bowled.

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I hope I haven’t come over as too harsh here. But surely there are red lights flashing left, right and centre with this situation.

Sport can often be heartbreaking. It doesn’t have to be tragic as well.

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