Pucovski sees 'second chance' as Vics eye Shield title

Will Pucovski is viewing his latest return to the game as a "second chance" as the gun batter re-emerges as a key plank in Victoria's charge towards a third-straight Sheffield Shield final.

Pucovski broke a three-year hundred drought against New South Wales at the SCG last Saturday, scoring 131 from 302 balls, but the Vics were ultimately left frustrated by the Sydney weather as rain and bad light ended the day early with the visitors needing just two wickets for the win.

The breakthrough knock for their star 26-year-old however was a rainbow amid the grey, particularly given it came after Pucovski's 11th concussion, which he suffered in a Second XI game against South Australia in Adelaide on January 21.

Even that incident – and the subsequent smooth two-week recovery – is being viewed with optimistic eyes by the man himself.

"It was a pretty regulation concussion – I got hit by a bouncer," Pucovski said on SEN Radio.

"Probably just technically got it wrong on that one particular ball … got hit, and had a pretty normal concussion response, which, in a way, it was actually a pretty big positive.

"Obviously it was frustrating that I missed that first Shield game back, but in terms of the doctors and working with them and getting through all that, (it) was a pretty simple concussion (and) return-to-play process.

"To be honest, that was probably the first time I'd been hit and I didn't feel overly stressed by it. I just thought, OK, it is what it is.

"I felt symptoms for two, two-and-a-half weeks, and then as soon as those symptoms went away, and with the physical program I was doing to increase my tolerance and everything, it all clicked into place that I was able to get a couple of days' prep in before the Shield game and then return to the team.

"So in that regard, it was really good to almost have just a normal concussion in a way and just go through that normal process.

"Obviously it's hard from the outside because people probably assume there's other stuff going on, but that's genuinely as simple as it was."

Pucovski has been battling both mental health and concussion issues for more than five years now, not long after he burst onto the scene as a prodigiously talented teen run machine. On a recent episode of the Cricket Victoria podcast, he intimated he was dealing with more mental health issues than he was willing to publicly discuss.

"One day I'll be ready to tell my whole story and it will probably make a lot more sense," he said. "I've explained what I've been through to my inner circle of people and actually all the responses I've got have been like, 'Jesus, I would never have guessed that in a million years, that doesn't even make sense to me'.

"It hasn't made sense to me for years, either, but I've been on this pathway to understand it all. I didn't feel comfortable even speaking to psychologists about what I've been through for five or six years."

The right-hander's latest hundred was his seventh in first-class cricket and he said he is viewing the performance – which reaffirmed to him that he can still rely on his trusted processes for preparation, concentration and run-scoring – as a breakthrough.

"It's been a huge journey of pretty significant ups and downs," he said on SEN. "Given where I know I've been, to get that first hundred back, in a way, I look at it as a bit of a second chance at a career, which I've been very lucky to have because of the support I've had from my state and my teammates, and everyone that's been around me.

"Hopefully I can start to repay that faith that a lot of people have had in me when it probably would have been easier to give up, and I was pretty close to giving up on myself at some stages.

"So it did feel extra special in that regard. It sort of felt like a first hundred in a way, which was a pretty nice feeling."

Pucovski's return has coincided with the comeback of Nic Maddinson, who has scored two hundreds in two matches since rejoining the Shield team following an ACL injury. The addition of the pair has bolstered Victoria's batting order significantly as they chase a first Shield title in five years.

"It's such a good group that we've got at the moment," Pucovski added. "So it's just good that we are in with a sniff of another Shield final, which would be amazing, and if we can culminate a pretty good season personally with that team success, that would be a perfect end for the year."

Sheffield Shield 2023-24 standings

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Drawn D	No results N/R	Deductions Ded.	Batting Bonus Bat	Bowling Bonus Bowl	Total points PTS
1 Western Australia Men WA	10	5	2	3	0	0	5.53	9.4	47.93
2 Tasmanian Tigers Men TAS	10	5	2	3	0	0	6.06	8.3	47.36
3 NSW Men NSW	10	4	3	3	0	0	6.31	9	42.31
4 Victoria Men VIC	10	4	4	2	0	0	4.74	8.2	38.94
5 South Australia Men SA	10	3	6	1	0	0	5.19	9.3	33.49
6 Queensland Bulls QLD	10	2	6	2	0	0	3.54	8.3	25.84

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

D: Drawn

N/R: No results

Ded.: Deductions

Bat: Batting Bonus

Bowl: Bowling Bonus

PTS: Total points