The Ashes 2013: Jonathan Trott - Cricket, mental health, performance and the world

Jonathan Trott

Today after reading about Jonathan Trott returning back to England, leaving the Ashes after the first test, I felt the need to write this blog post. Statistics say 15% elite sport athletes suffer from mental health conditions including depression. I have not found any sport specific research on depression or mental health, which is sad because the awareness about the topic among people is very poor. According to David Frith in his book Silence of the Hearts:Cricket Suicides, cricket is the greatest sport for suicides.

I write this post not only to express my opinion about sports, specifically cricket and mental health but also to create an awareness and visibility among sports fanatics as well as people that even the most toughest athletes can have mental health issues. As the old saying goes, every dark cloud has a silver lining, there are many positive stories of bouncing back in the world of cricket.

Cricket and mental health

If I ask myself what is the first thing what comes to my mind about Jonathan Trott, it would definitely be his body language, which says “hey, I am not going to go from the pitch so soon!” I got similar vibes from Trescothik as well. But in Trescothik’s words “anxiety is the beast that lives inside” and if not tamed and looked after time to time ” the beast gets stirred again sending shivers which grips“ him which threatens for a “breakdown“.

With this quote, I vividly remember the time when Marcus Trescothik left the Ashes 2006-07 even before the series started stating a “stress-related illness”. I also remember Shaun Tait quitting cricket due to depression before making a successful come back to international cricket. Very recently, New Zealand cricketer Lou Vincent came out to talk about his on going battle with depression. Apart from them, English cricketer Michael Yardy who retired from cricket because of depression, Freddie Flintoff who suffered from a bout of depression post Ashes 2006-07, Steve Harmison who went through similar bouts, but they all came out and openly spoke about their own battles with their inner demon. This is their strength.

It is difficult to identify the symptoms of depression, and even more difficult to admit that you are having a tough time with yourself. When I was in England,I remember watching a BBC documentary on cricket and depression by Freddie Flintoff- his tough times when it took a lot of time to understand what he was going through, unaware of the reasons why he started drinking a lot, not being able to comprehend his sadness in times when the team won matches. Here is a “The Guardian” article about Freddie Flintoff.

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2012/nov/18/freddie-flintoff-cricket-depression-boxer

Freddie Flintoff sought opinions and help from former English Boxer MBE Ricky Hatton, who admitted to battled depression throughout his career.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ricky-hatton-admits-suicidal-thoughts-2359134

The best part about the documentary is it gives positive hopes for people with depression. Freddie Flintoff is now a – a former cricketer-turned-professional boxer. And what more, he won his first bout as well!

Cricket, mental health, media and fans- stigma

Reading the tweets and posts of social networking sites, I see people making fun of the Jonathan Trott (example, Trott got scared of the Aussies etc.). It is sad to see cricket fans using derogatory words to address a serious issue. Firstly, it is not an illness. I absolutely do not agree it when people or media label this as a “stress-related illness”. It is a phase or a condition from which a person can bounce back provided he/she has the resources and the support. And as seen in this post, there are many positive stories of bouncing back.

All of this leads to the sensitivity of mental health issues and awareness in sports. Social media has made the world smaller. Given that, people are not censored, they bluntly put forth their thoughts without understanding the situation. Social media aside, even journalists, print and electronic media appear to be a little less sensitive when it comes to athletes and their performances. Piers Morgan, English media/ news personality challenged cricketers, who complained about negative journalism affecting their performance, by saying “I would put up with any number of negative tabloid headlines to walk out just once at Lord’s.” This absolutely does not justify the “free press”‘s way of thrashing a particular player’s image. The recent one being the Australian media and their anti-England cricket team headlines.

Coming to the main point of addressing issues with sensitivity, the way mental health and sports is dealt with in the media- both social and journalistic- is a little insensitive. First point being “how can an athlete of have a mental health problem, they are supposed to be mentally tough.” It is a ridiculous point! Any person, you, me can go through mental health issues. This kind of awareness needs to be developed among everyone. In India, I am not too sure about the statistics but I dont think many common people are aware of the gravity of a major mental health problem- like Major Depression, let alone sportsmen. I dont want to compare health issues but like cancer awareness has developed sensitivity towards cancer, the mental health awareness should reach that level as well. To a level where a common man accepts the fact that he or even the best of the athletes can be susceptible to a mental health problem. There should be sensitivity towards mental health so that tomorrow I dont read a single tweet of a Facebook comment which says “Oh, Trott got scared of Johnson and is going back home.” (This was a real comment on Facebook).

Mental health is as important as physical health and Mental health issues, as grave. I hope there is more awareness of mental health issues and problems and they are dealt with more sensitivity in the media. To end this article, I hope Trotty bounces back very soon, because without him, there is a void in the current English side! All the best Trotty!