Boyce raising money for MIND

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Leicestershire batsman Matthew Boyce is doing his bit to raise awareness of depression in sport by walking from John O’Groats to Land’s End.

Boyce, who passed 5,000 runs for his county this summer, has been fortunate enough to never suffer from mental-health issues.

Yet that does not mean the 27-year-old cannot empathise with some of his colleagues, such as Michael Yardy and Marcus Trescothick who have admitted to struggling with such problems.

As a result, Boyce will embark upon a 66-day off-road trek that begins later this month and ends early December in a bid to raise money for charity MIND.

He said: “In life we all have to cope with the demands of job, family, relationships. Today mental health is now talked about in the open rather than behind closed doors. Demands placed on all of us put us under pressure even more in the society we live in.

“I first had the idea of doing something for charity during the winter months of 2011-2012 after seeing an interview between Andrew Flintoff and Piers Morgan amid the media coverage of the tragic and untimely deaths of sportsmen Gary Speed and Peter Roebuck.

“I felt lucky not to have suffered from mental health issues and decided MIND was the perfect cause for me to support.

"Being a professional cricketer and a sportsman and in the public eye you may have to cope with all the extra pressures that entails. Your performance is always under extra scrutiny. However that is no different for the man or woman in the street trying to do the best they can.

“In cricket, I have become more and more aware of colleagues and fellow competitors trying to cope with depression or mental health issues.”

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