Exhausted Tait Quits Cricket Indefinitely

Cricket: Australian Test bowler Shaun Tait has taken an indefinite break from the game due to physical and emotional fatigue
Cricket Australia today revealed that the Test bowler Shaun Tait is to take an indefinite break from cricket due to physical and emotional exhaustion. In a statement released by the governing body, the 24-year-old Tait said an absence from the game would "hopefully give me a clear mind and a chance for my body to rest and recover". No time frame on a return to the game has been placed on Tait, who will sit out Friday night's KFC Twenty20 clash against India in Melbourne and the forthcoming Commonwealth Bank Series. He will also be unavailable for inter-state duties with South Australia. "This is a very difficult situation for me to be in at this time, this is not an overnight decision but something that I've been struggling with for some time," said Tait. "A break from professional cricket will hopefully give me a clear mind and a chance for my body to rest and recover. My love and enjoyment of the game is struggling due to these issues and if I continue to go on it will be unfair on my team-mates and support staff of both the Australian and South Australian cricket teams - and most importantly my family and close friends." Tait had shoulder surgery following the 2005 Ashes series and also had an operation last year to repair an elbow injury. That, according to the South Australian Cricket Association medical officer Terry Farquharson, led to Tait also suffering "ongoing pain as well as suffering intermittent low back and hamstring injuries". "The combination of his injury history and the demands of being an elite professional cricketer has affected his physical, and significantly, his emotional well-being," Farquharson said. "Shaun feels he needs a rest from cricket and I support this, which will allow him to recover both physically and emotionally."