ngland opener Rory Burns has admitted that the bio-secure bubbles that he had to be a part of during the summer with West Indies and Pakistan touring the country, took a tool on his mental health.
He has also gone on to say that from now on every player will also have to look at this aspect of a bio-secure bubble before making themselves available for international tours.
The batsman also added that he has usually played his best cricket when the sport is not the ‘be-all and end-all’ and the players also get some time off to take their mind of it.
“Bubble life was different. It’s not something I personally enjoyed that much,” Burns told London’s Evening Standard.
“When I have played my best, it’s when cricket’s not been the be-all and end-all.
“I like to go for a coffee, see a mate or my missus; refreshing yourself by not thinking cricket — and that’s a lot harder to do in the bubble setting. That was the main challenge for me.”
Burns had a successful series against Jason Holder’s West Indies where he scored 234 runs in the three Test matches.
However, the following series against Pakistan was not a good one for him and he could only score 20 runs in 4 innings, and was troubled by the pace of the Pakistan bowling line-up. Shaheen Shah Afridi dismissed him thrice and Mohammad Abbas got him out once.
Players have been living in bubbles since international cricket resumed in July after the Covid-19 hiatus, with strict rules enforced to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Burns also added that he may not be available for England’s rescheduled tour of Sri Lanka in January next year as he is expecting the birth of his first child.
“I’m waiting to see what the dates are. I don’t know them yet, so it’s a judgment call closer to the time,” he said.
