- Will Pucovski’s county cricket contract has been cancelled
- The Australian suffered a concussion in the Sheffield Shield
- His career remains in the balance
Will Pucovski’s cricket career is on hold again, with the Australian batter pulling out of his England county deal as he recovers from his latest concussion.
Pucovski’s future was again thrown into doubt when he was hit on the head while batting for Victoria against Tasmania on 3 March.
In one of the most concerning concussions of the 26-year-old’s career, Pucovski was hit in the side of the head after diving into a Riley Meredith delivery.
Pucovski had been set to link up with Leicestershire for the first five rounds of the county championship, but the decision has now been made for him to stay at home.
“It’s a great shame to lose Will at this time, but his health has to come first,” Foxes director of cricket Claude Henderson said.
Will Pucovski’s contract with Leicestershire has been canceled following his latest setback
“Given the proximity to the start of the English season, it has been agreed by all parties to give him the necessary time to recover.
‘We want to wish Will all the best as he continues his recovery in Australia.’
The hit was at least the 11th concussion of Pucovski’s stop-start career, with the right-hander back on all four dry-heaving for several minutes after the collision.
One of the most talented young prodigies in Australia this century, Pucovski’s career has been regularly halted by injuries and concussions.
He hit 62 on Test debut against India in January 2021, but was ruled out of the next match after suffering a shoulder injury in the field.
The Victorian has also taken time away from the game at various times for mental reasons, admitting last month they were likely linked to his concussion.
“I kind of link mental health back to my first concussion … which was when I was about 15 or 16,” Pucovski said on the Vic State Cricket Podcast.
The 26-year-old suffered another concussion in a recent Sheffield Shield match
‘I have a lot of concussion symptoms which over a seven or eight year period never really went away.
‘You just got used to having them in a way. The brain is pretty amazing and can find ways to adapt.
‘I would fail concussion tests in exactly the same way every single time, regardless of whether I had been hit in the head, and that was over a seven or eight year period.’
Pucovski’s latest concussion came just one match after he hit his first Sheffield Shield century in more than three years, against NSW in Sydney.
