Yorkshire CCC legend Darren Lehmann winning battles on road to recovery

So quipped Yorkshire legend Darren Lehmann as he continues his recovery from a triple heart bypass.

The former Australia batsman said that he is “just starting to get back to normal” after being taken ill on his 50th birthday in early February.

Lehmann has “ditched the darts” – a colloquialism for he has quit smoking – and cut down on alcohol after what he calls “a real shock to the system”.

But a man who famously took an old school approach to diet and fitness during his playing days – and instead let his phenomenal talent to do the talking – is still allowed the occasional “cold one” after a scare that has given him a new lease of life.

“I’m feeling really good,” Lehmann told The Yorkshire Post.

“Obviously it was a real shock to go from looking forward to having dinner with family and friends on my 50th birthday and a few beers and, dare I say it, a few darts to suddenly having a triple bypass and having to give up the cigarettes.

“I can still have a cold beer, which is something that I could never give up anyway, but everything now is in strict moderation.

“I’ve found it quite easy, dare I say it, to give up the darts, mainly because I’ve been stuck inside with no social aspects – no pubs, no clubs, none of that, so it hasn’t been too bad, and everything tastes much better, of course.”

Lehmann, who played for Yorkshire from 1997 to 2006, and is coach of the Headingley-based 100-ball franchise Northern Superchargers, says that he is walking regularly, breathing more easily and sleeping more solidly.

His greatest battle has been more mental than physical – both in terms of dealing with his health scare and the restrictions now facing everyone due to coronavirus, and the fact that Australian cricket is in the off-season.

“The physical challenge through the operation has been tough in terms of recovery, but it’s probably been more of a challenge mentally,” he said.

“I’ve also had an extra month of not going anywhere in addition to the Covid situation, and obviously there’s no cricket at the moment.

“There’s still days when I sort of go up and down mentally more than anything, but the family helps out in those situations – Andrea and the kids have been unbelievable, as have all the family – and you can speak to different people.”

Lehmann underwent surgery in Brisbane after an angiogram revealed three blockages in blood vessels in his heart.

The prognosis is good and he feels fortunate that the problem was promptly and expertly treated.

“I just got lucky,” he said. “They (the medics) couldn’t believe I was still functioning every day, riding a bike and walking around, but not to the standard that I am now, so I realise how short of gallop I was in breath compared to what I’m able to do now.

“I saw the cardiologist the other day and I’ve got these tablets that everyone takes when they’ve had this sort of thing happen to them, and then they review it in about three-to-six months.

“It’s a case of looking after myself and doing the right things, and it’s been a good eye-opener and a chance to reset and work out what’s really important.”

Lehmann had been due in England soon for the inaugural edition of The Hundred, which has been postponed for a year due to the pandemic.

He feels it was the correct move to delay the competition.

“It’s the right decision,” he said. “You want the new format to stand alone with big crowds and be sold out all the time, and ticket sales apparently were through the roof considering what players were coming along.

“It’s disappointing because it would have been great to have been part of a new tournament this year, a new game and a new style, and the ECB has spent a lot of money and all the counties to get this up-and-running. It is disappointing but, for me, it’s just a 12-month hiatus and then it all starts next year.”

The Hundred has had its detractors, with surveys showing that most existing cricket supporters do not want another format, but Lehmann hopes it will win round the critics.

“I know there’s been a lot of knockers out there with The Hundred, but I personally can’t wait to see the likes of Aaron Finch and those guys playing for the Superchargers,” he said.

“Finch batting with Adam Lyth, for example. Then you’ve got Chris Lynn, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Adil Rashid, and so on. It’s wall-to-wall stars and every side has them. I don’t know whether there will be another player draft next year – that’s in the ECB’s hands – but I imagine that the majority of players will stay, as such, and I’m really looking forward to it because any cricket, in my view, is good cricket.”

One thing is for sure: Lehmann is guaranteed a warm welcome from the Yorkshire public when he does return to God’s own county.

“Leeds is my second home and I miss all the people there,” said a man who scored 8,871 first-class runs for Yorkshire at 68.76.

Everyone in the Broad Acres will raise a cold one to the fact that he is well on the mend.

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