“I’m 23-years-old and all I’ve ever wanted to do is play cricket, and all of a sudden you’re having to ask yourself questions you’ve never had to ask before, like what am I going to do?”
Gloucestershire seamer Luke Charlesworth was forced was forced to retire from cricket at the end of the season following a back injury.
“I’m absolutely devastated. Its been two months of lots of emotion and coming to terms with it.”
“The decision making process was dragged out for about a month and that month was really hard because everyday you’re thinking about what the next meeting going to say – I had various meetings with various consultants, specialists and surgeons, so that month was a long one.”
Charlesworth sustained a back injury in August, and, after seeking expert medical advice was forced to retire from the sport in a “decision that had to be made, which in a way was taken out of my hands.”
The 23-year-old is now learning to navigate life without cricket, but after coming through Gloucestershire Cricket’s academy, and making 11 appearances for the county, it’s not been an easy adjustment for him.
“After the decision you’re basically thinking, damage control. How am I going to get through the next few weeks, months, years, and what does my life look like now – which is a question I’ve never really had to ask myself, ever.”
“Cricket is not only work, it’s my hobby and I’ve never viewed it as work, so what am I going to do to fill my time?”
A month down the line Charlesworth is slowly coming to peace with the decision and considering his next steps, “staring to feel proud of what I did, but it’s going to hurt for a while.”
“I’m wondering whether I want to get into wealth management, finance in London, I don’t feel like that would be a bad fit more me.”
However, a return to cricket is not currently on the cards for the 23-year-old, with a coaching role too soon for him after his injury.
“Coaching is something I have considered in the past but I feel like I’m too young – it would be painful for me to go from being a young pro to coaching players that I should be playing with.”
“Maybe one day I will do a bit of coaching and get back into cricket in some from because I do love the game, especially fast bowling, but for now I think I’ll probably have to look somewhere else.”
