Gary Ballance unavailable for Yorkshire due to 'anxiety and stress' issues

Gary Ballance is dealing with "heightened feelings of anxiety and stress" related to the coronavirus lockdown in the UK and won't be available for selection, his county, Yorkshire, have said.

Ballance recently suffered from a viral illness, but according to the Yorkshire Post has twice tested negative for Covid-19. However, time spent in isolation and then difficulties preparing for the resumption of county cricket earlier this month has affected his personal wellbeing.

The England batsman, formerly Yorkshire's captain, took time out of the game in 2018 to deal with personal issues. He was Yorkshire's leading run-scorer in the County Championship last year, but has not played in the Bob Willis Trophy to date.

Ballance has returned to training but Yorkshire have said they will not put a timescale on when he might play around, although it is understood the club are hopeful he will be able to feature at some point this season.

"Gary is currently managing some heightened feelings of anxiety and stress following a long period of isolation due to the Covid-19 lockdown, his own recent viral illness and other personal factors," Yorkshire said in a statement.

"The post-viral symptoms have affected his physical preparation for this shortened cricket season. He is currently unavailable for selection and we are unable to put any timescales on his return to playing at this time. However, Gary has increased his training volumes over the last week and is working hard both in the nets and on his general fitness.

"Gary's health and well-being remains our priority and the Club and medical staff will continue to work closely with Gary to support his return to playing as soon as possible. The club requests that Gary's privacy in this matter is respected to allow him to focus on his return to cricket."