Tim Bresnan, the former England pacer, has spoken of the time he and Jonathan Trott “got drugged” in Hong Kong, during the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes tournament in 2008.
Bresnan, on the Shackles Are Off podcast, was speaking on his battle with mental health when he remembered the incident from 2008, during the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes tournament, when he and Trott were spiked with what they later found out was ketamine.
“Got drugged in Hong Kong. We’re in Hong Kong Sixes, myself and Jonny Trott. And we got spiked,” he said. “They reckon it was ketamine, there were traces in our system. But we got to Loughborough and got the drugs tested and stuff, the voluntary ones. I’d lost the plot by then anyway.
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“That was the … end of the 2008 summer. And then I had that whole winter off, had a really good pre-season with Yorkshire, in Abu Dhabi. It was like walking back into an environment with all your mates … it was like a stag do, and really enjoyed it. Really enjoyed my cricket again. I played my first Test in 2009 of that summer.”
Bresnan was speaking about his struggles with mental health after a difficult debut series where he was tonked by Sri Lanka’s big-hitter Sanath Jayasuriya. “I’ve struggled in the past, mental health wise, don’t mind saying,” Bresnan said. “Had a couple of decent-sized wobbles actually, and I’d just gone, ‘That’s enough for me, I don’t want to play cricket anymore’ kind of thing.
Bresnan made full use of having access to a hotel’s master key.https://t.co/xePsDGHPT3
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) June 7, 2020
“I had a big one after the series I made my debut actually [against Sri Lanka in 2006], got pumped everywhere by [Sanath] Jayasuriya. And I couldn’t actually bowl to a left-hander for about three years after that. I just got nervous every time a left-hander came.”
Bresnan, 35, recently moved to Warwickshire after a 19-year career with Yorkshire, said the Covid-19-enforced lockdown had been good for him. “I’m getting fitter, leaner,” he said. “I’m not being told what to do, being made to lift weights. I’m spending so much extra time that I wouldn’t usually get with my family, in the summer when the weather is nice. I can enjoy the garden, enjoy taking the kids on walks and bike rides and all that sort of stuff.”
