England set to appoint permanent mental health wellbeing expert

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have decided to appoint a full-time mental health and wellbeing person to the team’s structure on a priority basis.

England have been one of the most affected countries in regards to depression and other mental illnesses with many players ending their careers because of the same.

Now that cricket is played within a bio-secure bubble, with a little to no connection to the outside world, mental health has become of paramount importance with many players including Eoin Morgan, Jason Holder, and Jofra Archer speaking openly about that.

Keeping an eye on that, England is set to recruit a dedicated staff to look after their players’ mental wellbeing in response to the concerns regarding the consequences of spending extended periods of time in bio-bubbles.

“Ashley is in the process of appointing a mental health and wellbeing person across the team, different from the psychology and the clinical element, but actually looking at mental wellbeing as being part of our high-performance set-up as a permanent position,” Harrison told the Times.

ECB acknowledges England players’ contribution

“We have huge admiration and respect for the playing group. You saw the commitment they were making to the bigger picture through the lockdown period when we weren’t playing. And then obviously the commitment to a very different type of existence through the bubble.

“Mental wellbeing has become such a feature of the way in which we evaluate player health in a much more acute way than even 12 months ago.”

England are set to travel to Sri Lanka for a Test series, which is part of the World Test Championship, before traveling to India to play four Tests, five T20Is, and three ODIs.

Players like Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer have been given rest for the Sri Lanka tour while Jos Buttler is expected to miss a portion of the India series.