Will Pucovski’s cricket career has suffered one more blow but has opened up an opportunity in England for another Australian Test batter Marcus Harris.
The ill-starred Pucovski’s future has been clouded again, with the gifted Victoria player having to withdraw from his English county deal with Leicestershire as he recovers from his latest concussion.
But Leicestershire have moved quickly to snap up a replacement, announcing on Thursday (Friday AEDT) they’ve signed 31-year-old Harris, who was a popular figure at the club in his last spell at Grace Road three years ago.
Left-handed opener Harris, who hasn’t played a Test for Australia since the Sydney Ashes match two years ago, missed out on regaining his Test place with Australia this summer despite strong claims.
But he has never given up on his Test career, having reflected at the end of last year that “in this day and age, you can’t write anyone off … If given the opportunity, I can take it with both hands.”
Harris scored 887 runs in 12 matches at an average of 55.44 the last time he was at Leicestershire, before having another run-laden two years at Gloucestershire.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to represent Leicestershire again. My goal is to win a few games for the team and have another memorable experience with a great group,” he said.
Harris’s schedule is the same as Pucovski’s initial deal, playing for the first five county championship matches of the campaign, alongside Leicestershire’s second overseas player, fellow Victoria batter Peter Handscomb.
But Pucovski’s future is again in doubt after being struck in the head while batting for Victoria against Tasmania on March 3.
In one of his most concerning concussions, the 26-year-old was struck in the side of the head after ducking into a Riley Meredith delivery.
“It’s a huge shame to lose Will at this stage, but his health must come first,” Leicestershire’s head of cricket Claude Henderson said.
“Given the proximity to the start of the English season, it has been agreed by all parties to allow him the necessary time to recover.”
The blow was at least the 11th concussion of Pucovski’s stop-start career, with the right-hander left on all fours dry-heaving for several minutes after the impact.
One of the most talented young prodigies in Australia this century, his career has been regularly stopped by injuries and concussions.
He hit 62 on Test debut against India in January 2021, but was ruled out of the next match after suffering a shoulder injury in the field.
The Victorian has also taken time away from the game at different points for mental health reasons, and conceded last month they were likely linked to his concussions.
“I sort of link the mental health stuff back to my first concussion … which was when I was about 15 or 16,” Pucovski said on the Vic State Cricket Podcast.
“I have a lot of concussion symptoms that over a seven- or eight-year period actually never subsided.”
Pucovski’s latest concussion came just one match after he hit his first Sheffield Shield century in more than three years, against NSW in Sydney.
Source Agencies
