The great sadness at what could have been for Pucovski

It was not a surprise when Will Pucovski said "I'm not going to be playing cricket again" in a Melbourne radio studio on Tuesday.

Those words had been expected for a year. But the inevitability of them doesn't make them any less sad.

Twenty-seven-year-old's with three first-class double centuries and an average of 45.19 aren't supposed to retire from the game.

Pucovski spoke of wanting to play 100 Tests. "Unfortunately, one Test is where it ends," he said.

It's heartbreaking to think there is an alternative universe where Pucovski might have already played 41 Test matches without interruption after his debut against India at the SCG in January 2021.

An alternative universe where he already has multiple Test centuries and is Australia's incumbent opener, currently preparing for a stint in county cricket like the one he was set for last year with Leicestershire, ahead of the World Test Championship final.

In that universe he would be a pivotal figure in Australia's aging XI, with he and Cameron Green the two pillars of the next generation as a team full of over 30s hurtles towards transition.

But in this universe, the sadness at what might have been is replaced by the grim reality that Pucovski's retirement is a relief for all concerned.

He is still suffering concussion symptoms over a year on from what is hopefully his last blow. He spoke of getting dizzy just looking at things from his left eye. Motion sickness from a train ride last Saturday caused a three-hour afternoon nap. Headaches and fatigue are a daily feature of his life now.

An independent medical panel recommended he retire last year. The competitor in him went on a global search to find an alternative solution that might allow him to play again. But the risk of another blow is too great.

The number of blows is well into double figures and they even pre-date his cricket career. There were concussions in the field, in the nets, after tripping over while running between the wickets, while playing a game of warm-up soccer, on top of numerous blows facing high quality first-class bowling.

Getting hit is an occupational hazard for a professional top-order batter. Even Steven Smith has been felled. But the best rarely get hit more than once or twice in a career. For Pucovski it was a yearly occurrence. He never played more than seven first-class games in a season across eight years as a professional.

He also took numerous mental health breaks which he is certain are a side effect of his concussions. His family have noticed a change in him as a person. He knows it's complicated and hard to understand. He noted that the confusion has been fuelled further by the fact there has been no consensus on how it all knits together amongst the many medical experts he has consulted.

All of that makes his case so complex. Unlike Australia Rules Football, which has made strides in navigating medical retirements due to concussion, Pucovski's is a test case in cricket. It is hard to know what the game owes him, what his future earnings might have been worth. That is still being determined.

There are no guarantees in cricket. Matt Renshaw was once a prodigy who made 184 in a Test for Australia as a 20-year-old. He has just turned 29 and looks a fair way off adding to his 14 Tests right now. Kurtis Patterson, who was selected ahead of Pucovski in January 2019, made an unbeaten century in his last Test innings aged 25. Now 31, he has not played a Test match since and has only this season fought his way back from the first-class wilderness having fallen out of love with the game.

Cricket's top earners are also three-format players. Pucovski played 50 professional matches without a single T20 appearance. He struck at 77.62 in his 14 List A games.

But that's part of what made him unique and potentially a great loss to Australia's Test team. Growing up in arguably the first generation of Australian batters that developed on more short-form cricket than long-form at underage levels, Pucovski was cut from a different cloth. So many of his cohort have been plagued by hard hands and poor decision-making in first-class cricket. Pucovski was a throwback to a different era.

Those who saw him up close at first-class level speak about his exceptional decision-making and problem-solving ability. There was a softness to his play, an economy to his movements. People were in awe of the time he seemed to have.

His first double-century in first-class cricket was extraordinary. On a WACA pitch where WA were bowled out for 208 and 251 and only four others in the match passed 42 and none of them batted in the top four, Pucovski peeled off 243 not out from 311 balls at No. 3.

Those who bowled to him at his best said there was an overwhelming feeling of helplessness. His intimidation as a batter wasn't through powerful ball-striking, it was through the ease of his scoring ability against their best balls.

That was never more evident than in October 2020. There was precious little cricket being played anywhere due to Covid, but the Sheffield Shield was in a bubble in Adelaide.

Pucovski grabbed the world's attention with back-to-back double centuries against South Australia and Western Australia. His team-mates said he was in such rare form that he had asked them to fling balls at top pace in the nets from five metres infront of the bowling crease to make his practice more challenging.

His Test debut only months later - although delayed by another blow to the helmet in a tour match - was also evidence of his gifts. He only struck four boundaries in a 110-ball 62 against an India attack comprising of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. What's clear from rewatching the highlights in the aftermath of his retirement is how willing he was to let the ball come to him. He played late under his eyes, never once trying to over hit it. He was content just finding gaps and accumulating like he had so often at first-class level.

It is a shame that player is now lost to cricket. But it is a positive that Pucovski the person won't be lost to cricket. He spoke of a keenness to coach and will begin his journey with his beloved Melbourne Cricket Club as head coach next season. He also spoke of potentially getting involved in cricket administration at some point and has already shown his commentary capabilities in brief television stints in Australia.

His cerebral nature, his openness to explore different ideas beyond the insularity elite cricket can often cultivate will make him an asset to the game in whatever he chooses to do.

That he was grateful for one Test rather than bitter about being denied many more is a window into his character. There will be a future in cricket for Will Pucovski. Just not the one he might have hoped for.