Ben Foakes "didn't even want to see cricket" after burnout from England snubs and gruelling schedule

The Surrey wicketkeeper has spoken out about the "mental burnout" he experienced since making his Test debut at the end of 2018

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Surrey wicketkeeper Ben Foakes has opened up about his struggles with burnout after being dropped from England's Test squad in the West Indies one year ago.

The 27-year-old made an emphatic entrance in the international arena during a 2018 tour of Sri Lanka, following Matt Prior in becoming the second England gloveman to post a century on Test debut.

However, only one half-century followed in the nine innings that followed before he was dropped during the following year's defeat in the West Indies, and he has not played any full international cricket since a brace of white-ball debuts against Ireland and Pakistan at the start of May.

Foakes would go on to average just 24.58 in the first-class summer, and he has revealed that he opted out of a recent England Lions series in Australia in order to rediscover his passion for the sport and work on finding his way back into the setup.

"Not knowing where I stood with England played a part in adding to that mental burnout. It was tough," Foakes told the Daily Mail.

"I just got away completely because I'd reached the stage where I didn't even want to see cricket.

"A couple of months off was exactly what I needed because I hadn't had more than a 10-day break for years and, however much you love the game, it can get on top of you.

"It's helped me get that fire back. Just having a bit of time away from the game reignited that passion and made me get my head clear."

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Foakes scored a century on Test debut but was dropped just four games later

Foakes has since earned a recall to the England Test setup at the expense of Jonny Bairstow, though the team's time in Sri Lanka was cut short last month in response to the escalating nature of the coronavirus pandemic.

Before the two Test fixtures were postponed, Foakes posted unbeaten knocks of 27 and 24 in a three-day meeting with a Sri Lanka Board President's XI, but he did not make an appearance against the same opposition in their planned four-day first-class meeting in Colombo the following week.

His next opportunity to play his way into Chris Silverwood's XI is now likely to be in June at the earliest, following the ECB's recent announcement that the start of the international and domestic schedules this summer will be no earlier than May 28

While a resumption on that date would currently not affect any of England's summer clashes, which are set to begin at Foakes' home ground of The Oval with a Test against the West Indies on June 4-8, the entire makeup of the calendar remains under question as the board continues to evaluate the prospects of cricket in the current climate.

Yesterday, chief executive Tom Harrison described the situation as "the biggest challenge the ECB have faced in their history" and promised that government clearance would be sought before any contingency plans are put into place.

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