Filed under: Cricket, England Cricket, World Cup, ODIs
Andy Flower is on the look out for another replacement - after Michael Yardy's withdrawal from the World Cup because of depression.The England team director has been forced to deal with so many disruptions to his plans during the campaign so far and Yardy is the latest incident of a troubled World Cup.
Yardy has returned home after consultation with England team doctors and there are some similarities between the off-spinner's situation and that of former England opener Marcus Trescothick, who quit the international scene because of depression.
His situation obviously became acute to leave so close to the quarter-final against Sri Lanka and there now have to be doubts as to whether Yardy, 30, will appear again in an England shirt, after 28 ODIs and 14 Twenty20 internationals.
Unlike Trescothick, whose illness remained a mystery for many months, leading to all kinds of unwanted speculation about his private life and marital situation, Yardy has been up front and open about his situation.
"Leaving at this stage of a World Cup campaign was a very difficult decision to make, but I felt that it was the only sensible option for me," Yardy said.
"And I wanted to be honest about the reason behind that decision. I would like to wish the squad all the very best ahead of the game on Saturday.
"I would appreciate some privacy over the coming weeks while I spend time with family and close friends ahead of what I hope will be a successful season for Sussex."
Yardy's request is a genuine one and one which deserves respect and one hopes that the situation he has found himself in has nothing to do with the fact that he has been away from home with the England squad touring for almost seven months.
His state of mind may well be illustrated by his figures in the World Cup. Yardy represented England in three games this World Cup, picking up two wickets but proved expensive. With the bat in the lower order, he managed 19 runs in three innings.
Graeme Swann, his off-spin colleague recently complained about the schedule and called it "ludicrous" and was quick to qualify his statement, claiming that he was not complaining about being a cricketer.
He was at pains to point out that he was not annoyed at a life where he stayed in the "best hotels" and got paid for playing a game he loves.
What he is upset about is the fact he is virtually playing cricket for 12-months of the year and that is not something a father with a six-month old baby wants to be doing.
Hugh Morris, the managing director of the ECB, said: "I would like to offer my full support to Michael on behalf of everyone involved with the England team and the ECB.
"Michael has been an integral part of the England set up in recent years and while he will be missed in the knock out stages of the World Cup, our priority now is to ensure that he returns home to his family and is able to spend time recovering with a strong support network around him. "
Playing international sport is an honour and Yardy has not thrown that in the face of anyone. All he has done is underline the fact that a balance has to be struck and at the moment the scales are seriously out of kilter.
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