Hard Yards

Mike Yardy

Description

Mike Yardy is one of only 11 English cricketers to reach the absolute pinnacle of his profession. In 2010 he was a member of the team which won the T20 World Cup, England's only triumph in a global tournament. Having led Sussex to two titles in his first year as captain in 2009, he was an established member of England's one-day side. Yardy was at the top of his game, but all the time he was riddled with self-doubt. Was he good enough? Did other people believe in him? How long would the good times last before his world came crashing in? Without fully recognising the symptoms, Yardy had been suffering from depression since 2008 and three years later, when he should have been preparing for a World Cup quarter-final, he admitted defeat and sought treatment for his illness. Hard Yards is a sporting autobiography with a real difference; the story of a courageous sportsman who confronted his problems head-on and now, having retired in 2015, is helping other sportsmen learn to live with mental illness through his ambassadorial work with the mental health charity MIND.

Sujets

• Críquet
• Cricket

Informations

• Publié par: Pitch Publishing Ltd
• Date de parution: 14 mai 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781785311574
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

First published by Pitch Publishing, 2016
Pitch Publishing
A2 Yeoman Gate
Yeoman Way
Durrington
BN13 3QZ
www.pitchpublishing.co.uk
Mike Yardy with Bruce Talbot, 2016
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the Publisher.
A CIP catalogue record is available for this book from the British Library
Print ISBN 978-1-78531-156-7
eBook ISBN: 978-1-78531-157-4
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Contents
Acknowledgements
Foreword by Matt Prior
Introduction
Breakdown
In denial
Baby steps
Making it
No pain, no gain
England
Top of the world
Sussex by the Sea
Captain
What s normal?
Proving myself again
Winding down
New beginnings
Dealing with depression by Karin Yardy
Photographs
Acknowledgements
BRUCE TALBOT, who collaborated with Mike Yardy on this book, and Mike would like to thank John Barnett for his help in checking the completed text. Images were sourced from Mike s family collection and Phil Barnes, of the Sussex CCC library.
Foreword by Matt Prior
I WAS 12 years old when I first encountered Mike Yardy. There was I, not long having arrived from South Africa playing age-group cricket for the Sussex under-12s. In the age group above there were a number of players who already had a reputation for being good enough to go all the way and Yards was one of them. I was in awe of the guy. He was the name in Sussex age-group cricket at the time and everyone you spoke to thought he would go on and have a career in the game. They were right, and what a career it s been.
We played the majority of our youth cricket together and slowly worked our way through the ranks until we both finally broke into the Sussex first team a few years later. I always respected Yards for the player he was but there was a game in 2001 when I decided that there was one characteristic in his game that I wanted to emulate. We were playing Somerset on a bit of a green top at Hove. It was only my first year on the staff and I hadn t faced too many really quick bowlers. That day Somerset s Richard Johnson - fighting for England recognition - really hit a rhythm and came charging down the slope. The dressing room was nervous, the ball was flying around everywhere off the pitch and batting was just horrible! Yards was different however. He didn t seem affected, and if he was you couldn t tell. He fought tooth and nail that morning and while wickets were falling at the other end he wasn t to be moved. He played and missed, he took blows, he got sledged but all of this only seemed to spur the second-year professional on. He was doing what he did his whole career. Fight!
He fought for every inch that day and that was a trait that remained with him his whole career. He scored 73 (not his best score by a mile) but it stands out to me as one of the best innings I ever saw him play and an innings that had a huge effect on my own game and mentality as well. That day I decided that s how I wanted to be too. I was going to give everything I had to being a professional cricketer and commit fully to my team. I was going to fight.
Yards always committed everything he had to improve, he was always looking to make himself better. Changing the fundamentals in terms of the way you bat and then, a few months later, doing the same with your bowling was a brave decision at the time but it massively paid off for him. Within a couple of years Yards was an England cricketer and although we didn t play together too often for our country it was always an even more special time for me when Yards was alongside. Two Sussex school boys living the dream we always spoke about.
Yards will be the first to admit that there have probably been more talented cricketers than him during his 16 years in the game but how many could say with total honesty that they achieved as much or made the absolute utmost of their ability as he did? In my team I would always have the player that gets the most out of himself than one that promises the world and delivers nothing. At the 2010 Twenty20 World Cup he played a massive part in England s success. During so many of the games he and Graeme Swann applied the pressure during the important middle overs with his left-arm spin. He was a vital cog in the England wheel and, as his friend, I was so proud of what he achieved when England lifted the trophy. Only 11 England cricketers have ever won an ICC World Cup and Michael Yardy is one of them.
In 2009 he realised another dream and became Sussex captain. Yards is Sussex born and bred and no man would have felt more honoured to lead the county than him. He s always been a student of the game and had a very shrewd tactical brain. In T20 in particular he had this knack of second-guessing what the opposition were going to do next. Sometimes it was just a hunch, but more often than not it worked and when he was performing well with the ball, as he did that year when Sussex won finals day at Edgbaston, there were few better leaders in the country than him. As a leader he embraced the ideals and team ethos which Peter Moores had first instilled at Sussex when we both came onto the staff. Yards always held those values we had close to his heart and continued to do so right up until 2015 when he retired.
Admitting he was suffering from mental illness was an incredibly brave decision. To decide that you re not fit enough to keep playing for your country is very, very tough, as I found out myself a few years later. Although we were always close and spoke often, particularly on that tour, it was only after England had played Ireland in the 2011 World Cup that I realised just how serious his problems were. It was heartbreaking to watch Mike go through what he did. He felt all alone and could no longer cope. Hearing Mike describing so honestly after that Ireland game just how lonely he d become and the battles he was fighting, there was only one thing to do. I know how difficult his decision to come home and get treatment was to make but it was 100% the right one. It s a struggle he is always going to have to face, but five years on Mike knows how to deal with it and, of course, he has the fantastic support of Karin and their family which I know has been invaluable to Yards over the years.
Leaving the game for good can be very difficult to accept for any professional sportsman but Yards was fortunate to be able to retire from the game in 2015 on his own terms. Filling the gaping hole in your life which was once occupied with playing sport for a living can be difficult but I know how much he enjoys studying a subject which has always interested him. I know too that Mike will do everything to make himself the best sports psychologist he can. His own personal experience will make him exceptional at this I am sure and I don t doubt that he will be a huge asset to his fellow professionals one day.
Life moves on quickly and it already seems an age ago that Yards and I were playing professional cricket together at the ground we both grew up at and loved. We were both hugely fortunate to play in such a successful era for both Sussex and England and I look forward to reminiscing about them all one day, maybe on a bike! What do you think, Yards?
Introduction
P UTTING together this book has really made me appreciate the number of people who have helped me through my life so far, during the good times and the bad. I would love to mention everyone but that would probably need a book of its own. However, I m sure they know who they are and how much I appreciate all that they have done for me.
I would like to thank my parents, Howard and Bev, for their unbelievable support when I was a little boy wondering if could turn my dream of playing cricket for Sussex into a reality.
Sussex County Cricket Club have played such a big part in my story so far. Actually, it is people that make an organisation special, not the name. All the people who worked at the club during the 16 years I was player and captain helped to make it such a special time for me.
The coaches and players at both Battle and Hastings Priory Cricket Club, for teaching me early in my cricketing journey all about the values of being a team player.
Thanks to all the wonderful team-mates I had the opportunity to play with and learn from, for both Sussex and England, and for all the unbelievable support and friendships gained.
And the friends who have supported me whether I was doing well or badly and took the mickey accordingly!
To Bruce Talbot, who has followed my career from the very start, thanks for all your hard work in turning my waffling anecdotes into a book I am very proud of.
Lastly, to Karin and the kids. I m not one for big gestures but suffice to say you are all amazing and I m so proud of what we have achieved together.
You have taught me that spending time as a family means so much more than the day to day stuff. It has not been an easy ride for us but we have always faced the challenges head on.
Enjoy my story.
Mike Yardy Brighton, April 2016
1
Breakdown
A NDY Flower knew the signs. I d spoken to the England head coach when I first left the squad during the one-day series against Pakistan in September 2010. The morning I literally couldn t get out of my hotel bed in Southampton. The morning I was staring at the ceiling and felt like the walls were closing in.
Look, you ll know when I m in trouble. Just look into my eyes.
Seven months later we were in Colombo, preparing for the