Simon Cusden

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Simon Mark James Cusden (born 21 February 1985) is an former professional cricketer, who now helps high performing individuals and teams prevent and treat wellbeing and performance crisis. [1] [2]

Born in Thanet in Kent, Cusden played for Kent County Cricket Club between 2004 and 2006. [3] After being released by Kent at the end of the 2006 season he joined Derbyshire but was in turn released by them after making only one first-class appearance during 2007. [4] [5] He played a total of seven first-class matches and six List A matches in his playing career. [6] He represented England Under-19's touring Australia in 2002–2003. In the Under-19s test against Bangladesh in July 2004, Cusden claimed four wickets and was top wicket taker in the test and one day series.

After playing for Elvaston Cricket Club in Derbyshire for two seasons following his release by Derbyshire, Cusden moved to Australia. He set up his own cricket coaching company. [7] [8]

Cusden has spoken of the mental health issues he faced whilst playing and after leaving the professional game. For a time he abused alcohol and attempted to commit suicide on one occasion. The Professional Cricketers' Association Benevolent Fund provided assistance to him after the attempt and he was admitted to a rehabilitation centre to aid his recovery. [9] [10]

Nearly a decade later, Cusden now works as a private coach for senior leaders and high performers who are suffering silently from depression, addiction and suicidal ideation.

Simon lives in Somerset with his wife, Jess and their twin sons - Jupiter and Phoenix.

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References

  1. ↑ Cusden S (2014) Coaching people, All Out Cricket, 2014-01-29.
  2. ↑ Cusden S (2015) The age of the mentor, All Out Cricket, 2015-09-10. Retrieved 2017-04-30.
  3. ↑ Collis J (2004) Cusden wields the axe for Kent, The Guardian , 2004-09-07. Retrieved 2017-04-30.
  4. ↑ Simon Cusden, BBC Derby, 2007-02-22. Retrieved 2017-04-30.
  5. ↑ Chris Taylor leaves Derbyshire, CricInfo, 2007-09-12. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
  6. ↑ Simon Cusden, Cricket Derbyshire Foundation. Retrieved 2017-04-30.
  7. ↑ Cricket: Former Derbyshire all-rounder Simon Cusden's remarkable story, Derby Telegraph , 2014-07-07. Retrieved 2017-04-30.
  8. ↑ Gaskin L (2013) Carters at home helping cricketers, Canberra Times , 2013-08-08. Retrieved 2017-04-30.
  9. ↑ Cricket's mental health crisis: the unseen stories, The Daily Telegraph , 2017-07-19. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  10. ↑ Bruce A (2017) Cusden thanks PCA after suicide attempt, Kent Sport News, 2017-07-26. Retrieved 2018-10-26.

Simon Cusden  at ESPNcricinfo

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