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Depressed Yardy out of World Cup
2011-03-24 18:52:51
England all-rounder Michael Yardy has flown home from the World Cup because he is suffering from depression.
"Leaving at this stage of the World Cup campaign was a very difficult decision to make," the 30-year-old said.
"But I felt it was the only sensible option for me and I wanted to be honest about the reason behind that decision."
England have been allowed to call up Yorkshire leg-spinner Adil Rashid to replace Yardy, and are waiting on news of pace bowler Tim Bresnan's injury.
Bresnan has a calf problem but team management hope he will be fit for Sunday's quarter-final against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
The Yorkshireman, 26, tore the same muscle in his right leg during the tour to Australia and returned home early, missing five matches in the one-day international series that followed the Ashes Tests.
He is England's leading seam bowler at the World Cup, having taken nine wickets including a career-best 5-48 in the tied group game with India, and the results of a scan on his leg will be revealed on Thursday.
But news of Yardy's departure will come as an even greater shock to England supporters who are hoping to see the team lift the World Cup for the first time.
An England and Wales Cricket Board statement said the decision had been taken "in close consultation" with the England medical team and that he had been managing the illness "for a prolonged period of time".
Team-mate Ravi Bopara revealed that he had not been aware of Yardy's struggle to play on with the problem.
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//"As a club, we request that everybody, including both supporters and the media, respects his privacy as he looks to spend some time with his family, having been away for five months.
"In due course, Michael will make a statement and in the meantime the club, its members and supporters wish him a speedy recovery."
The former England captain Michael Vaughan was Trescothick's captain when he quit the tour of India to return home and has every sympathy with Yardy's situation.
"It can never be an easy decision to leave a World Cup so he's clearly got himself into such a state and has been struggling for a period of time to come to this decision," Vaughan said.
"My support is completely with him. The support network that Marcus Trescothick got - I'm sure will be exactly the same with Michael Yardy.
"It must have been a tough decision to make but I'm sure that everyone around the ECB, the PCA, all the players and his family and friends will give him all the support he needs to help him come through this," he added.
However, England batting legend Geoff Boycott, like Vaughan working for the BBC's TMS at the World Cup, was less sympathetic to Yardy's plight.
"I'm no doctor, I don't understand about depression and I can't comment on it. I certainly wouldn't be nasty about it because I don't know. I've never been in that position.
"If there's any blame attached it's partly to the selectors who have done an excellent job on picking the Ashes side but I'm sorry, [Yardy] is not good enough at this level.
"For me, he was always going to be a liability or a poor choice at international level out here."
In Yardy's absence, England will face co-hosts Sri Lanka on Saturday, with a semi-final against South Africa or New Zealand to follow three days later, also in Colombo, if they are successful. The World Cup final takes place in Mumbai on 2 April.
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E-mail this to a friend Printable version ENGLAND Team guide Pick your own England XI England and Wales Cricket Board see also Vaughan on Yardy 24 Mar 11 | Cricket Collingwood to have knee surgery 23 Mar 11 | England England 'do not fear Sri Lanka' 22 Mar 11 | England England face tough Sri Lanka test 20 Mar 11 | England SA victory puts England through 19 Mar 11 | Cricket England call up bowler Dernbach 18 Mar 11 | England Shahzad to miss rest of World Cup 17 Mar 11 | England England win keeps Cup hopes alive 17 Mar 11 | England Bresnan confident of World Cup fitness 28 Jan 11 | Cricket Injury forces Bresnan to fly home 23 Jan 11 | England Cricket World Cup 2011 09 Mar 11 | Cricket related bbc links: BBC Health - Depression Cricket World Cup on the BBC BBC World Service enhanced statistics Test Match Special blog Test Match Special podcast related internet links: World Cup 2011 BBC World Cup on Twitter Test Match Special photos on flickr International Cricket Council The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Skip to top PRODUCTS & SERVICES Daily and weekly e-mails Mobiles Desktop Tools News feeds Interactive TV Podcasts A-Z of Sports American Football Archery Athletics Badminton Baseball Basketball Bowls Boxing Canoeing Cricket Cycling Darts Disability sport Diving Equestrian Fencing Football Formula 1 Gaelic Games Golf Gymnastics Handball Hockey Horse Racing Ice Hockey Judo Modern Pentathlon MotoGP Motorsport Netball Rowing Rugby League Rugby Union Sailing Shooting Snooker Squash Swimming Table Tennis Taekwondo Tennis Triathlon Volleyball Weightlifting Winter Sports Wrestling blq.setLabel('searchSuggestion', 'Search BBC Sport'); bbc.co.uk navigation News Sport Weather iPlayer TV Radio More CBBC CBeebies Comedy Food Health History Learning Music Science Nature Local Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Full A-Z of BBC sites BBC links Mobile site Terms of Use About the BBC Privacy BBC Help Cookies Accessibility Help Parental Guidance