ECB Coaches Association links Inside Edge 6 May 2018 | Page 32

CONCUSSION IN FOCUS

My advice for anyone who gets a longer term
injury is stay busy, refocus on something other than
rehab and cricket. See it as an opportunity to do
something else that may set you up better for the
future. I always wanted to do Level 3, but the ECB
and PCA rushed me into the system and suddenly I
had the time to do it.
Throughout the process of recovery it is easy
for coaches to forget about the injured player. In a
professional environment all that is buzzing around
the coaches head is what are we going to do in the
next game? Who is available? Who is injured? What
should I be doing to give the team the best chance of
winning the next game?

Fortunately I had good coaches around me who
stayed in touch. They kept me involved being around
at Trent Bridge. They made sure I was able to stay
involved in off-field matters. I stayed around the team
environment, which was important for me because I
still felt part of something. Initially there is a danger
you lose your feeling of worth, but I personally got
looked after really well.

That said, like any sportsman, I’m a competitive
animal, and I got bored of not being able to compete.
Whether it is playing 5-a-side football with your mates,
playing indoor cricket, or playing in front of 30,000
at Lord’s in a big final, you are going to miss the
competition and the camaraderie with team mates.
Getting back to playing this season has been brilliant
for me.

I have a new lease of life and love of playing the
game, having been starved of that for so long. You
play 4 day games, 2 white ball competitions, and if
you are involved in all of those there is a danger you
find it a bit tedious at times. For me I’m refreshed,
lively, bubbly and can’t wait for another season.
“My advice for anyone who
gets a longer term injury
is stay busy, refocus on
something other than rehab
and cricket. See it as an
opportunity to do something
else that may set you up
better for the future.”
I had to do tests virtually every day until six
months later I was eventually signed off by the doctor.
The protocols in cricket now are excellent. The physio
at Notts had great knowledge on the issue straight
away and the surgeon in Birmingham was top class.
I was lucky there is now so much more knowledge
around sporting head injury these days, compared to
a few years back.

Anyone who has experienced an injury of any sort
will be familiar with the symptoms, but you do get
into quite a depression. The week before I sustained
the injury I was playing in a Lord’s final in front of a
packed house, which we won. Then a week later I am
out the game for six months. The structure of your
life, and the reason to get up in the mornings is ripped
away from you in the blink of an eye. Normally you
are surrounded by team mates, but when you are
out injured you are on your own and you do not have
anyone to talk to. For characters like me who like to
be around people, involved and busy, this is difficult to
handle.
You have to try and find something to fill the
time. I got a late place on the Level 3 Performance
Coach Course, which was great because it gave me
a week away focusing on something else. I did a bit
of commentary with BBC and did some work with
Sky Sports. What I did for myself and had shoved
in front of me by other people allowed me to keep
moving forward and concentrate on things other than
recovering from a head injury. Spending three months
on the couch twiddling my thumbs would have
been a disaster. I spent a week doing that, and then
fortunately a few things cropped up.
CONCUSSION IN FOCUS
Luke Fletcher celebrates after
bowling Gareth Batty of Surrey.
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