<p class="bodytext">Australia Test captain Tim Paine has revealed that a career-threatening injury in 2010 tormented him so much that he "hated" cricket and spent his days "crying on crouch" before a sports psychologist helped him come out of the "painful" episode.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Paine, who took over the Test captaincy from Steve Smith after the infamous ball-tampering incident in 2018, suffered an injury in a charity match in 2010, when a delivery from Dirk Nannes broke his right index finger.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The injury required Paine to undergo seven surgeries, involving eight pins, a metal plate and a piece of hip bone and took away two cricket seasons from him.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"When I started training and playing again I wasn't too bad, until I started to face guys who bowled a bit quicker. And they'd be running in and instead of thinking about hitting the ball, I was thinking: 'Geez I hope he doesn't hit me on the finger'," Paine said on the 'Bounce Back' podcast.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"From there it was just a downward spiral. I lost absolutely all confidence. I didn’t tell anyone about it. The truth is, one, I was scared of getting hit and two, I just didn’t know what I was going to do," he added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The 35-year-old said his struggles affected his personal life as well.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I didn't sleep, I didn't eat. I was so nervous before games, I'd have no energy. I was horrible to live with. I was pretty ordinary to my partner, who is now my wife. I was always angry and took out that I wasn't doing well on other people.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I was embarrassed at what I had become. I love training for cricket, and I love watching cricket. But when it came to my part in the game I just hated it. I would rather be anywhere else in the world because I was convinced I was going to fail," Paine said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"No one knew I was struggling, not my mates, not my partner. There were times when she was at work and I’d sit on the couch crying. It was weird and it was painful."</p>.<p class="bodytext">He said a critical point for him was when he approached a sports psychologist at Cricket Tasmania.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I sat with her for maybe only 20 minutes that first time and I remember walking out of that room and instantly feeling better, that I had let someone in.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"And, in the end, the first step to dealing with it was admitting that I needed help. It still took six (more) months, but I remember walking out of that room and feeling instantly better."</p>.<p class="bodytext">The mental health of elite cricketers came into the spotlight after star Australian batsman Glenn Maxwell took a break to deal with his unspecified problems followed by young batsman Nic Maddinson.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In England, there have been players like Steve Harmison, Marcus Trescothick and Graeme Fowler, who have dealt with depression.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Paine said he shared his experience with the younger players in the side, opening up a space for discussions on mental health issues.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I wish I had sought help earlier. I was taught to just get on with it. But I now try and share with younger players that you need people to talk too and share.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The stigma of not talking and men being big and brave and tough, we’ve been able to spin it a bit and say, it’s actually braver to speak up; it’s braver to share things," he added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Paine was selected in the Test team for the 2017-18 Ashes series, but admitted he struggled with negative thoughts before embracing the sport he loves.</p>
<p class="bodytext">Australia Test captain Tim Paine has revealed that a career-threatening injury in 2010 tormented him so much that he "hated" cricket and spent his days "crying on crouch" before a sports psychologist helped him come out of the "painful" episode.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Paine, who took over the Test captaincy from Steve Smith after the infamous ball-tampering incident in 2018, suffered an injury in a charity match in 2010, when a delivery from Dirk Nannes broke his right index finger.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The injury required Paine to undergo seven surgeries, involving eight pins, a metal plate and a piece of hip bone and took away two cricket seasons from him.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"When I started training and playing again I wasn't too bad, until I started to face guys who bowled a bit quicker. And they'd be running in and instead of thinking about hitting the ball, I was thinking: 'Geez I hope he doesn't hit me on the finger'," Paine said on the 'Bounce Back' podcast.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"From there it was just a downward spiral. I lost absolutely all confidence. I didn’t tell anyone about it. The truth is, one, I was scared of getting hit and two, I just didn’t know what I was going to do," he added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The 35-year-old said his struggles affected his personal life as well.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I didn't sleep, I didn't eat. I was so nervous before games, I'd have no energy. I was horrible to live with. I was pretty ordinary to my partner, who is now my wife. I was always angry and took out that I wasn't doing well on other people.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I was embarrassed at what I had become. I love training for cricket, and I love watching cricket. But when it came to my part in the game I just hated it. I would rather be anywhere else in the world because I was convinced I was going to fail," Paine said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"No one knew I was struggling, not my mates, not my partner. There were times when she was at work and I’d sit on the couch crying. It was weird and it was painful."</p>.<p class="bodytext">He said a critical point for him was when he approached a sports psychologist at Cricket Tasmania.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I sat with her for maybe only 20 minutes that first time and I remember walking out of that room and instantly feeling better, that I had let someone in.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"And, in the end, the first step to dealing with it was admitting that I needed help. It still took six (more) months, but I remember walking out of that room and feeling instantly better."</p>.<p class="bodytext">The mental health of elite cricketers came into the spotlight after star Australian batsman Glenn Maxwell took a break to deal with his unspecified problems followed by young batsman Nic Maddinson.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In England, there have been players like Steve Harmison, Marcus Trescothick and Graeme Fowler, who have dealt with depression.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Paine said he shared his experience with the younger players in the side, opening up a space for discussions on mental health issues.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I wish I had sought help earlier. I was taught to just get on with it. But I now try and share with younger players that you need people to talk too and share.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The stigma of not talking and men being big and brave and tough, we’ve been able to spin it a bit and say, it’s actually braver to speak up; it’s braver to share things," he added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Paine was selected in the Test team for the 2017-18 Ashes series, but admitted he struggled with negative thoughts before embracing the sport he loves.</p>