A Cricketer Faces His Demons

The story of Moises Henriques

Moises Henriques, who retired from first-class cricket last week, may never have fulfilled his early promise, although only, perhaps, because that early promise was so great. Those who encountered him in junior ranks in New South Wales still speak of him in awed tones - the teen who hit it harder and bowled quicker than anybody else, dominating at every level. He played for Australia aged twenty-one, and seemed bound for success when he scored 68 and 81 not out on his Test debut twelve years ago. Somehow, however, the youthful talent did not completely translate, although he was a formidable representative of New South Wales, and a soulful cricket presence. I arranged to have a chat with Moises in 2018 about a book I was writing, Crossing The Line, and in the course of the conversation he adverted to the story to his taking an unexplained break the previous season. He spoke with great candour and feeling. I mentioned that if he wished to tell the story publicly, I would gladly facilitate it - the outcome of which was this long piece about Moises’s sufferings with anxiety and depression which appeared in The Australian Magazine that October. Life has been bumpy for Moises since, too, but I remain full of admiration for his openness, his decency and his trust in sharing a story that continues to resonate.