Cricket club bans social media comments to protect players’ mental health

English basement county, Kent, are led by erstwhile planetary Adam Hollioake, who is acrophobic for players’ good being.

The English cricket nine Kent has suspended comments connected their authoritative societal media accounts, with caput manager Adam Hollioake suggesting players’ intelligence wellness could beryllium damaged by stinging criticism.

Kent person made a atrocious commencement to the play and are presently astatine the ft of the 2nd and bottommost part of the County Championship pursuing 3 matches.

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Their signifier has led to immoderate cutting online comments from frustrated Kent fans.

Hollioake, successful a connection released earlier Kent’s latest crippled against Derbyshire, which began astatine Canterbury connected Friday, accepted the team’s performances had not been “anywhere adjacent the standards we expect of ourselves”.

But Hollioake, a adjacent person of erstwhile Surrey and England teammate Graham Thorpe, who took his ain beingness successful 2024, said helium had a “duty of care” to support the Kent squad.

“Throughout my vocation successful cricket arsenic a subordinate and a coach, I person had to woody with a lot, that’s nary secret,” said Hollioake, whose younger member Ben, besides an England all-rounder, was killed successful a car clang backmost successful 2002.

Hollioake was besides adjacent to erstwhile England batsman Robin Smith, who struggled with alcoholism earlier his decease precocious past year.

“I’ve seen successful caller times, 2 players and friends that I played alongside for England, spell down a atrocious way successful presumption of intelligence health, and I’ve mislaid some of them,” the 54-year-old added.

“It’s portion of my job, and my work of care, to marque definite that we don’t spot that again.

“As a nonrecreational cricket department, alongside our media team, we’ve decided arsenic 1 that we volition beryllium suspending commenting connected our authoritative Kent Cricket societal media accounts for the clip being.

“This has not been a determination that we’ve taken lightly, and we are successful nary means stopping radical voicing their opinions, but to align with our short-term strategy to let players and unit to deliberation and play with state and clarity, we consciousness it is simply a indispensable one.”