More elite cricketers will follow Australia captain Meg Lanning's lead and take personal leave from the sport, her international teammate Ash Gardner says.
After Australia's Commonwealth Games campaign climaxed with the gold medal in August, Lanning began an indefinite absence from cricket in order to recharge and focus on herself.
Her break will span the whole of the WBBL season, which begins on Thursday, with the 30-year-old offering no guarantee of a top-level return.
Lanning's absence comes after a hectic 12 months for the Australian national team.
Since August last year, they have contested a multi-format series against India, the Ashes, the ODI World Cup, a T20I Tri-Series with Pakistan and Ireland, and the Commonwealth Games.
Those international demands come on top of the players' domestic cricket commitments.
These moves are not limited to the women's game, with England star (now test captain) Ben Stokes retiring from ODI cricket in July because of what he described as an "unsustainable" cricket schedule.
Gardner has played more than 100 matches for Australia under Lanning's captaincy and said the long-term skipper's hiatus would not be the last of its kind.
"Over the next 10 years, there's going to be heaps more people that are going to pull out of tournaments because they just want to have a break, to reset and recharge," she said.
Sophie Molineux, Amanda-Jade Wellington and Hannah Darlington are among the high-profile players to have taken mental-health leave in recent years and Gardner said the captain's decision to do the same was a powerful one.
"It's a really good message to the wider community to speak up," she said.
"It also just sends a message to the public and to the community that we are human.
"Everyone expects us to be perfect all the time but realistically that's not how it is. People tend to forget that it does take a toll."
Gardner said Lanning was going well when she last checked in and had been enjoying the chance to pursue other interests.
"If you don't have things outside of cricket that take up your time it can be quite tough," Gardner said.
"You don't really know who you are in the end.
"Cricket's great but you almost need to find who you are before you stop playing and she was brave enough to do that."
Newly minted Australia coach Shelley Nitschke has yet to announce a replacement for Lanning, who is still a chance to return to the international set-up over the summer.
Gardner said Lanning would leave a hole in the world-beating Australian team if she were to step away from the game for good.
"She's been really successful as an individual and as a captain for the Aussie side," Gardner said.
"If she wasn't to come back, she certainly would leave a strong legacy for the next person to try and follow."
AAP/ABC
