Pucovski set for coaching role after retirement announcement

Will Pucovski has announced he is retiring from all forms of cricket with immediate effect.

The 27-year-old exclusively revealed the news with Gerard Whateley on SEN's Whateley on Tuesday morning.

Pucovski last played in March last year for Victoria when he took a blow to the helmet from Tasmania's Riley Meredith. That led to his 13th known concussion throughout his sporting career, including two in the first three months of 2024.

Once considered a great hope of Australian cricket, Pucovski would play just the one Test against India in 2021 at the SCG where he made 62 in his first innings before injuring his shoulder in the field, ruling him out of the rest of the series.

He featured 36 times at the First Class level, scoring seven tons and nine fifties across a promising stint for his state including a top score of 255 not out against South Australia in 2020.

His last First Class ton came against New South Wales at the SCG in February 2024. It would end up being his second last professional game.

The right-hander's decision comes officially after a medical panel recommended he retire last year.

"I wish I was coming in under better circumstances," Pucovski said on SEN Whateley.

"I’m not going to be playing cricket again. 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.

"After that century in Sydney (in my second last game), I thought from a personal point of view things were starting to click for me. I put a mountain of effort into getting things right off the field to be good on the field. 

"It had always been my dream to play for Australia, I found myself in that position in 2021. My ambition didn’t stop there. I wanted to be that guy that was a leader of the batting unit. I wanted to play 100 Tests. 

"Unfortunately, one Test is where it ends."

Following his last concussion, Pucovski spoke about the struggles he has gone through which ultimately forced him into making the tough decision, with 2024 perhaps his toughest year yet.

"In the couple of months post that (last concussion) I struggled to get anything done, walking around the house was a struggle," Pucovski said.

"My fiancée was annoyed because I didn’t contribute to chores. I was sleeping a lot.

"From there it’s been a tough year, a lot of the symptoms didn’t go away which has led me to this decision. The first few months were horrendous, but things didn’t leave me. 

"I’ve only just turned 27, the space of concussion is very young. Speaking to a lot of specialists, this is a difficult space to deal with.

"The technology isn’t quite there to understand what is what. When you have symptoms for over a year and I’ve had others for numerous years, it can be quite difficult to see how can I get out to play professional sport again when I’m struggling to live my life how I want to."

Why the call has come now

While Pucovski was told by an expert panel of their recommendation to retire before last summer, he has waited until now after exhausting avenues to return to play and battling to get himself symptom-free.

"In my head, I didn’t want to make an official call until I was symptom-free," Pucovski said.

"When you’re struggling it’s hard to make a huge decision. The medical panel recommended I retire and that was really difficult to come to terms with. I felt like I was coming over the hill with a few things.

"Technically you can’t make anyone retire from anything... it got made clear to me it was a strong recommendation but the final decision ultimately was up to me. 

"Since then I have spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to find answers, trying to understand what the brain injury is that I have and why have I had all these problems.

"There probably wasn’t a moment that I thought ‘This is the day’ but things haven’t changed. I wanted to hold on to the dream as long as I could but the flip side to that is you want to feel better and live your life normally. 

"I just don’t want to risk doing any more damage to my brain than I’ve already done."

The long-term side effects

Unfortunately for the talented batsman, he’s still dealing with some serious side effects of concussion including fatigue, headaches and motion sickness, something that frightens both himself and his family.

"It’s complicated. There’s the mental health symptoms which is one part of it. Then there’s the fatigue, which is quite bad, I get regular headaches," Pucovski explained.

"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.

"Yes (it’s scary), 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."

The pride of the baggy green

While Pucovski would only feature once for his country, having a baggy green and being remembered as Australian Test player 460 is something he looks back on with immense pride.

"The baggy green means so many things. Pride is number one. To get there, no one knows what you go through to get that," Pucovski said.

"I know how hard it was especially navigating the concussion and mental health stuff about it, I know how hard it was to get to that day and I’ll always smile when I think about it.

"To have one is the absolute best. I got the Test number tattooed on the ankle (with my dad). I was 10 when we made that promise (to get a tattoo if I made my Test debut), so I had to stick that one out."

What's next?

Although his playing days are behind him, Pucovski will remain in cricket as the head coach of Premier Cricket side Melbourne, the same club where he made his First XI debut as a teenager in the 2014/15 summer.

"It's definitely something that I'm really passionate about," Pucovski said.

"I'm going to be coaching the MCC (Melbourne Cricket Club) next year, which is really exciting. It's always felt like a second home to me and I've always felt the love and support from the MCC while playing at higher levels or playing for them.

"I've been around there since I was 11 or 12 with their junior academy and all the way through. Coaching is always something that I've always wanted to scratch that itch with.

"I'm really excited to give that a go and see where it takes me."

LISTEN TO PUCOVSKI'S FULL CHAT WITH WHATELEY HERE.

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE.