Victorian and Australian cricket prodigy Will Pucovski has confirmed that his cricket career is over following repeat concussions.
Speaking on SEN’s Whateley on Tuesday morning, Pucovsi officially announced his retirement from the game.
“I’m not going to be playing cricket again,” he said.
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Will Pucovski in action for Australia in a Test match against India. Getty
“It’s been a really difficult year to put it as simply as possible. The simple message is, I won’t be playing at any level again.”
Nine’s Tom Morris reported last August that Pucovski was medically retired several months ago, although Cricket Victoria denied it at that time.
Pucovski has a history of concussions, with several knocks to the head forcing long stints on the sideline. He has not played since he suffered another blow from a Riley Meredith bouncer while representing Victoria in March last year.
The 27-year-old conceded that the disappointment of giving away his career had been hard to deal with.
“I’d need a few hours, I think, to take you through the whole journey,” he said.
“It had always been my dream to play for Australia, I found myself in that position in 2021.
Will Pucovski is believed to have sustained 13 concussions through cricket and junior football. Getty
“My ambition didn’t stop there. I wanted to be that guy who was a leader of the batting unit. I wanted to play 100 Tests.
“There’s been an illustrious group of one-Test players. Unfortunately, that’s where my journey ends.”
Once touted as the future of Australian batting, Pucovski played one Test for Australia in 2021.
He made his debut against India, making scores of 62 and 10.
In his 36 first-class matches, Pucovski made 2350 runs at an average of 45.19, with seven centuries.
Pucovski has been open about his mental health struggles and his “horrendous” battle with concussion but shed light on the extent of his ongoing concussion-related symptoms.
Will Pucovski leaves the field in what was his final match for Victoria. Getty
“It’s complicated. There’re the mental health symptoms, which is one part of it. Then there’s the fatigue, which is quite bad. I get regular headaches,” he said.
“I really struggle with things on my left side. If I have things happening in my left I feel sick and dizzy. I struggle with motion sickness.
“At 27, I have so much ahead of me, and I have so many things I want to achieve in my life. I wanted to play another 15 years and that gets taken away, which is bad enough.
“At least I know I won’t get hit in the head again, but when the symptoms are ongoing, it’s frightening.
“I know what I was like before these concussions and I know what I am now. My family and friends have noticed a difference in me and that’s scary for me and for them.”
Pucovski will move into coaching with the Melbourne Cricket Club.
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