'Mental health' something to monitor in bio-secure bubble: Aaron Finch
Melbourne [Australia], Aug 18 (ANI): Australia limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch on Tuesday said that mental health is something that will be required to monitor heavily in the bio-secure bubble.
His remark came as Australia gets ready to lock horns with England in three T20Is and three ODIs in the bio-secure bubble in the UK.
The T20Is will be played at the Ageas Bowl while the ODIs will take place at Emirates Old Trafford. All these matches will be played behind closed doors.
"Mental health is something to monitor heavily. I know from an Australian point of view there's a lot of work behind the scenes going into making sure there's as good a goal post in place for players and really tailored approaches to make sure that we've got all our checkpoints in place to understand and recognise when things might be a little bit off. It could be a few months that people are in these bio bubbles and being stuck in a hotel room by yourself can be really tough," ESPNCricinfo quoted Finch as saying.
Australia's cricket team psychologist Michael Lloyd will also travel with the squad to the UK and he has been talking to players individually ahead of the trip.
"I definitely feel it's going to be a real issue and a real factor over the next couple of years in particular," Finch said.
Australia has named a 21-man squad for the upcoming limited-over series against England.
Australia's squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (VC), Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Daniel Sams, Kane Richardson, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.
Finch also welcomed the appointment of pacer Pat Cummins as the vice-captain of the side.
"The great thing Patty brings is a real calmness to the squad and he's someone who over the years has been able to separate the off-field stuff with his on-field performance and manages himself really well," Finch said.
"He brings a different perspective being a bowler as well, with the traditional captains and vice-captains being batsmen, so to have that really close connection to the bowlers is really important as well," he added.
Australian men's team Senior Assistant Coach Andrew McDonald will not travel with the squad to the UK to fulfill a pre-existing commitment as Head Coach of the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
McDonald will resume his duties with the Australian men's team at the conclusion of the IPL.
Experienced CA High-Performance Coach Troy Cooley and Melbourne Stars WBBL Head Coach Trent Woodhill will provide coaching support to Justin Langer throughout the tour, in addition to Performance Analyst Dene Hills, Selector George Bailey, and the broader team support staff.
The first T20I will be played at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on September 4. (ANI)
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