Cricketers' mental health thrown into the spotlight

Mental wellbeing as much as physical health is emerging as a key challenge for modernday cricketers - with relentless schedules, intense public scrutiny and the fear of failure weighing heavily.

The issue has been thrust into the spotlight in Australia, where three top players recently stepped aside for mental health reasons, with administrators scrambling to get on top of the problem.

Glenn Maxwell, one of the world's best short-format players, set the tone late last month by taking time away after "experiencing some difficulties with regards to his mental health". Will Pucovski - who had already taken two breaks to deal with similar issues - and Nic Maddinson followed suit, just a week ahead of the first Test of the Australian summer against Pakistan.

The specifics of their cases are not known publicly, but Ben Oliver, Cricket Australia's head of national teams, said there were a number of factors he had noted, generally, since beginning his job this year.

"One of the early observations I've had in the role is the intense scrutiny and the relentless schedule that exists around cricket," he told SEN sports radio. "From that perspective, there is an absolute need for us to invest time, energy, resources into understanding the challenges that exist for players and staff around mental health in that context, and making sure we do everything we can."

Test fast bowler Mitchell Starc attributed part of the blame on the modern players' gruelling schedule, with some top stars away from home for months at a time, putting strains on families and taxing friendships. "You have your pressures around cricket, the schedules are pretty ridiculous these days," said Starc, who is promoting the "Movember" initiative, where moustaches are grown during November to highlight issues affecting men like mental health.

"The positive thing is that guys are feeling perhaps more comfortable, if you like, to be open and honest with how they're feeling," he added.

"In the past guys might have just kicked on and tried to get through things and it could have built up to something worse."

Robert Craddock, a respected cricket writer for News Corp. newspapers, noted that the sport was also very mentally challenging.