MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Repeated concussions have taken such a toll on Will Pucovski’s promising cricket career that he’s decided he’ll never play the game again.
Pucovski was a precocious talent when he was first selected for an Australia squad in 2019 but he only played one test match — scoring a flourishing 62 on debut against India in 2021 — because of a string of concussion setbacks.
After taking medical advice to retire from first-class cricket last year following a concussion — reportedly his 13th — in a Sheffield Shield match, the 27-year-old batter confirmed in a radio interview Tuesday that he can't play again at any level because of the toll on his physical and mental health.
“The simple message is, I won’t be playing at any level again," Pucovski told the SEN network. "In the couple of months post that (last concussion) I struggled to get anything done, walking around the house was a struggle ... I was sleeping a lot. The first few months were horrendous, but things didn’t leave me.
“From there it’s been a tough year, a lot of the symptoms didn’t go away, which has led me to this decision."
Pucovski was one of the best batters in Australia but didn’t make his test debut until he faced India at Sydney in January 2021, posting a half-century in his first innings but then dislocating his right shoulder in a fielding mishap. He needed surgery and was ruled out for six months.
After returning to training in October, 2021, he sustained another concussion while batting and was ruled out of cricket for several months again. Just over a year since his last concussion, the lingering impacts have forced him out of the game.
“When you have symptoms for over a year — and I’ve had others for numerous years — it can be quite difficult to see how can I get out to play professional sport again when I’m struggling to live my life how I want to," he said. "The hard bit to come to terms with, to a degree as well, is I know what I was like before I suffered these concussions, and I know what I’m like now.
“My family have noticed a bit of a difference in me as well, and my friends, and that part is quite scary, and it’s quite scary for them as well.”
He finished his career with a first-class average of 45.19, including seven centuries and a highest score of 255 not out, as well as the record for the highest opening partnership in Australia's domestic first-class competition, the Sheffield Shield.
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The Associated Press
