Plunkett: I have felt low since World Cup
England fast bowler tells Calum Trenaman that it has been hard to return to normal life after win
World Cup winner Liam Plunkett has admitted that “it has been quite hard” since the World Cup final and that he has had down moments as he has come to terms with reaching the pinnacle of his career.
Speaking at an event at Dulwich Cricket Club yesterday encouraging children to play cricket, Plunkett said he was keeping on top of his mental health after the final. The England fast bowler said he had experienced anxiety early in his career after suffering a panic attack while travelling outside the game.
“I’ve always been big into it [mental health awareness],” he said. “I had a panic attack a long time ago. I never knew what it was and I got anxiety around it. I struggled being in one-on-one situations and certain situations like travelling on a plane and I’ve always been conscious of that.”
Plunkett said that the transition back to normality from winning the World Cup had been difficult. “I went from winning the World Cup and all of a sudden I’m sat on my sofa watching Netflix a day and a half later. It was quite hard and honestly I felt quite down a little bit,” he said.
“Everything was building up to that World Cup and it was the highest point of my career. I’m not sure anything’s going to happen like that again in cricket for me.”
The Surrey bowler revealed that he had felt the impact of the squad disbanding too, saying: “In the blink of an eye it was gone, as I say it felt like a massive low then. Everyone just disappeared everywhere else, so it was sad a little bit because you still want to be around people.
“You’ve just won the World Cup, you might never see that again never mind winning it so I felt a little bit down after. It was sad.”
When asked if he would seek support and speak to someone if he continued to feel down, he said that he had always spoken to professionals, and that this would be no different.
“I’ve never stopped speaking to anyone, but it’s just a natural thing. From winning the World Cup to sitting on your sofa it is a big drop. I think a lot of the guys felt the same, we spoke to each other about it but as I said you’ve got to go back to playing for your county, some guys are playing in the Ashes and the Test against Ireland.”
Plunkett said he had also taken steps outside of speaking to team psychologists to manage his mental health in the past. “For maybe
three or four years I was in and out of meditating. I’ve always tried to do a bit of yoga and to take a breath out [of the game] too,” he said.
The England and Wales Cricket Board and the Professional Cricketers’ Association have put a lot of resources into the mental wellbeing of players after a series of high-profile England cricketers including Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Flintoff, and more recently Jonathan Trott, opened up about their experiences of poor mental health.
Plunkett praised the resources available to the players. “There’s Youngy [England Cricket sports psychologist David Young], and you can get help from your county and from outside sources. Everything’s made available to anyone that needs anything. As much as you go for a net, that’s always been available to you,” he said.
“People have been great though, I’ve got support from Yorkshire and now Surrey, and England throughout. But people do get anxiety, it’s not a bad thing.”
Plunkett’s revelations are as relevant as ever after England 1992 World Cup finalist Robin Smith opened up during the 2019 competition about his experiences of poor mental health and alcoholism since he retired from playing.
Plunkett takes positives from his mental health experiences though, saying he thinks he is a better cricketer because of it.
“Going through that anxiety I think I went into cricket more. It was my outlet. I feel that that little bit of anxiety helped me be a better cricketer. It helped me bowl better because I put everything into training.”
He said the return to normality and domestic cricket from the highs of winning the World Cup was his biggest obstacle at the moment, though “not in a bad way, you just want to get excited about stuff again.
“It’s just hard from playing in such a magnificent game as that. I was a little bit down, I was still happy, but it’s just the ebb and flow of that game and the magnitude of it, it’s just a natural thing.”