Jason Behrendorff is embracing the mental break during an enforced injury lay-off.
It has been eight weeks since Behrendorff had back surgery in New Zealand and the left arm quick has been making steady progress in his rehabilitation ever since.
Speaking on Episode 4 of Sport Insights with Emageo, Behrendorff discussed how social media had contributed to the mental health issues in elite sport.
The 29-year-old father of one said while he would love to playing cricket this summer, he was focusing on the positives.
“It has been a nice mental break and a bit of a recharge period,” Behrendorff said. “I’m able to be home a lot more and do things that I haven’t been able to do a lot of, particularly over the last 12 months. Spending time with Juvelle and Harrison, which is so important and having that quality family time, especially at the moment, he’s at such a formative age and he’s like a sponge so everything we do he takes on and I’m so fortunate to be around with him at the moment.
“A lot of people have said to me: ‘You must be so frustrated that you’re not playing cricket.’ Don’t get me wrong, it’s disappointing. I love playing cricket and that’s what I want to do and keep doing for a long period of time.
“But I’m not playing cricket at the moment so if I keep dwelling on that then I’ll be in a pretty poor spot, I won’t enjoy anything else. “The big thing for me at the moment is really enjoying what I am doing and I’m not playing cricket, yes, but I get to spend time with my family, I get to spend time at home and all those little things that you don’t get to do as much so I’m really enjoying my season at the moment.”