Tim Ambrose: My battle against depression

Former England wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose has revealed a battle with depression in common with several other cricketers.

The 29-year-old has not played for England since 2009, and admitted he struggled mentally after losing his place in the side, leading him to miss much of the 2010 domestic season.

“I was awake 24 hours a day, with things going around in my head,” he told the Daily Telegraph.

“I was beyond miserable. It felt like I had this duvet that was soaking wet wrapped around me, and I couldn’t get it off.”

Ambrose played in the last of his 11 Tests against the West Indies in Bridgetown in February 2009, making an unbeaten 76 in his final innings.

However, it was not enough to retain his place, and that was the start of Ambrose’s greatest struggles.

“I’ve had issues from a long time back but it was an underlying thing that was easy to distract from,” said Ambrose.

“Since I was 15 years old my goal was to play international cricket. That’s all I wanted to do. Whenever anything got tough I could always focus back on to that end goal.