Cricket Australia set to appoint 'mental health and wellbeing' expert

Cricket Australia (CA) are all set to create history by becoming the first cricketing body to appoint a 'mental health and wellbeing' expert, who will solely be focusing on the mental health of the contracted players. Over the course of the past few years, CA have been one of the very few boards who have openly backed their players with respect to mental health and it was only last year that the Victorian trio of Glenn Maxwell, Will Pucovski and Nic Maddinson took extended time off from the game in order to focus on their mental health. 

It is believed that CA put out an advertisement last week for the new position of ‘Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead’, and it is expected that this person will report to Alex Kountouris, the board’s head of sports science and medicine. Speaking to ESPN Cricinfo, CA's high performance chief Drew Ginn confirmed that the board wanted to prioritize mental health and added that this critical move was a positive step in the right direction for the whole sport.

"The new Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead will give a greater focus on mental health at Cricket Australia, giving us an individual resource dedicated to this area," CA's high performance chief Drew Ginn told ESPNcricinfo.

"The role will also provide broader case management support for CA contracted players. It's a great chance to prioritise mental health. It will provide further reinforcement to our current psychologists working with our teams.

"To have a dedicated leader in a national role and having them focus on a national strategy, policy, future partnerships, critical case management and support for players and states is a positive step forward for the sport.”

The ongoing global lockdown, which has seen players being confined to the walls of their homes for an extended period of time, has also given rise to the fear that it might lead to more mental health-related issues and Ginn stressed that the move to introduce a mental health and wellbeing expert was more important than ever in these critical times.

"This role is more important than ever, particularly in a world where mental health issues continue to be prevalent, particularly with the demands of elite cricket, Covid and all of the uncertainty.

"It's crucial for us to provide the right support and environment for our players, coaches and staff, and this builds on fantastic work being done by Michael Lloyd and Peter Clarke.”

Currently, Australia have two Sports Psychologists,  Michael Lloyd and Peter Clarke, who take care of the Men’s and the Women’s sides respectively.