On Shaun Tait

Remember this

SHAUN Tait will consult other sportsmen who have battled depression in a bid to rekindle his desire to play cricket again.

The 24-year-old Australian fast-bowler has been battling mental exhaustion for months, culminating in his shock decision announced yesterday to quit the game indefinitely.

South Australian Tait said he was emotionally and physically exhausted and needed time away from the game to clear his mind.

The Australian Cricketers' Association will put Tait in touch with other sportsmen who have suffered depression, possibly including former England batsman Marcus Trescothick and AFL footballer Nathan Thompson.

and this

In the space of a few weeks two prominent and respected cricketers have broken ranks with the macho presentation that has long been part and parcel of the sporting ethic, to inform their families and other interested parties, namely the entire game with its secret concerns and hidden emotions, that they are suffering from the form of emotional trauma often simplified under the banner of "depression". It is in many respects a breakthrough and cricket is in their debt.

and remember the Boycott rebuke

MM: Now Geoffrey, here's the question you've picked as the best one that has come in this week. It comes in from Shane and he says that Shaun Tait decided to quit cricket indefinitely at the age of 24. Does this send the wrong message to the board about his commitment to the game and also to youngsters who watch the game?

GB: To me, it shows a lack of desire. I've always believed that cricket is about ability to a certain degree, but not everybody is blessed with Tendulkar's or Lara's ability. It is about character as well as ability. I've always believed that your character is tested when you fail and not when you're a raving success. Anybody can bat or bowl when they are doing well, because your confidence is high and everything is going for you. But when you fail and things don't go your way, that's when you've got to pick yourself up. You've got to be mentally strong, you've got to dust yourself down and you have to try again. For me, it shows a lack of character that he's given up. Instead of people saying, "We wish him well and we hope he comes back" (and we all wish that), I wish he hadn't gone away and had shown more commitment and more desire.

and Cricket Australia's response

Cricket Australia has taken strong exception to Geoffrey Boycott's claim Shaun Tait showed a "lack of character" for going on an indefinite break from the game. Boycott said Tait, who withdrew due to physical and emotional exhaustion after the India Test series, should have shown more commitment and desire to work through the problems.

A Cricket Australia spokesman said Tait had outlined the seriousness of his situation when he stepped down last month. "It is disappointing that any former international cricketer would treat these issues so lightly," the spokesman said, "given the particular columnist's stated view in 2006, and considering that he detailed his own similar experiences and referred to how he coped with his own situation."

Now reconcile all of that with this news report

If all goes to plan Tait will play in South Australia's season opener in October.

Until then Cricket Australia and SA Cricket Association physios will carefully manage an athlete who was spent three months ago, leading to his sudden farewell to cricket.

"My body was in pretty bad shape really," Tait said yesterday.

"Training, games, even waking up in the morning after games off, it was sore."

He bristled at reports he was clinically depressed, saying there was never any such diagnosis in his case.

"The body was sore and I took a break. It was as simple as that.

"It was always in the back of my mind that I'd come back and play cricket at some point."

So, Boycott was not too much off the mark was he?