By Avishek Roy,IANS,
Colombo : The problem of depression seems to be haunting England. That too when the team is in the subcontinent and this time when they are preparing for an important World Cup quarter-final against Sri Lanka.
England’s left-arm spinner Michael Yardy Thursday returned home citing depression. Not surprisingly, captain Andrew Strauss had to handle more questions on the depression bug, and how to keep the players away from it, than on the preparation for the match.
Yardy was dealing with the problem for quite sometime before he decided to take a call. Quite like another England player Michael Trescothick, who retired midway through his flourishing international career.
Incidentally, it was on a tour to India that Trescothick revealed about his illness to the cricketing world.
Australian Shaun Tait was another who took time out to cope with the pressures of the game.
Both Strauss and Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara spoke about the increasing demands and pressures of the game that an international cricketer has to deal with.
They, however, maintained that depression can occur due to many factors, not necessarily the pulls and pressures of the game.
“It’s a horrible thing for him (Yardy). It is tough to go through that phase. I met him before he went home. It is something he has been managing for a while and there were things in place to help him manage it. Over the last week or so it got too much for him and he got to go home,” Strauss said of Yardy’s condition.
“We are totally behind him. We had a similar experience before with Trescothick so we know more about it now. We also know more about the way to manage it. For the time being it is very disappointing for him and for the squad.”
Strauss, however, said depression and meeting the demands of the game are two different things.
“You have to look at it differently. We all have days where it is hard work for us. Obviously, if you see hotel rooms for 5-6 months on end, you are going to have days where you will feel a little bit down. There are kids back home and that makes touring hard. We all go through that. He was suffering from depression. Vast majority of us deal with it like anyone does and some have their own way of finding methods to deal with it.
“So I think there is a clear distinction there. International cricket is challenging in terms of temperament, technique and ability to stay away from home for months. Depression could be something different.
“Players try to help out. I was slightly involved when Michael Trescothick was going through that phase. They feel far worse at night when there is no one to ask to.
“But there is a limit on how much we can do as colleagues, friends and players. It is just one of the things that happened.”
Strauss said he had prior knowledge of Yardy going through that phase.
“I was not involved in the day-to-day management of things. Obviously, there are far qualified people to do it. It went to a stage when it became difficult on this particular tour.”
Asked whether non-performance has anything to do with it, Strauss said: “That’s a fundamental misunderstanding of the issue to link it with World Cup performance.”
Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara admitted that man-management has become a crucial aspect of the game.
“It gets really tough, specially the older you get. Your lifestyle is such that you always feel a bit under the gun when you are touring, specially away from home. Sometimes the occasion also can overwhelm you. Everyone feels for Michael Yardy. We have seen Michael Trescothick. They are all great players,” he said.
“It throws more and more attention to physiological aspect of players and how fit they can be and take up the challenge mentally. Cricket is a great sport and everyone enjoys playing it but at the same time managing it is important, specially the senior players.”