Will Pucovski marries long-time partner Emma days after officially announcing retirement from cricket

Former Australian batting prodigy Will Pucovski has married long-time partner Emma days after officially announcing his retirement from cricket.

The 27-year-old opened up last week on his ongoing battle with “frightening” symptoms from repeated concussions.

Pucovski’s frank interview pre-empted the start of his new life, beginning with a wedding day nearly 18 months in the making.

The newly married couple shared a single photo from the celebrations with the simplest of captions — “11.04.25” and a white love heart.

The picturesque Port Phillip Estate in the Mornington Peninsula wine region hosted the occasion.

Pucovski’s engagement announcement back in January 2024 belied the fact that his proposal didn’t all go to plan, as he revealed then on 7Cricket’s The Spin.

Jason Richardson and Lisa Sthalekar both fired off questions to their commentary colleague.

“Was it romantic?” Richardson asked, as Sthalekar asked whether he got down on one knee.

Pucovski said: “I would like to think so (that it was romantic).”

“It was more a lunge — I’m not the most flexible, so it’s hard to get all the way down. And it was on gravel, so I didn’t want a cut knee or anything,” he added.

But the then 25-year-old also had to jump through a few hoops just to get the end result.

“I got the approval from the (partner’s) old man — he’s a bit of a pain in the arse,” Pucovski joked with a laugh.

“I actually asked him on Christmas Eve, and then on Christmas Day he comes up to me and goes, ‘I’ve had a think about it and, no, you can’t — she’s way too good for you’.

“And I said, ‘I agree, but I’m doing it anyway. You said yes yesterday, that’s good enough for me!’

“But, yeah, it was good to get it done. (We went on) a 45-minute walk out to this spot that I’d picked and I was excited for the first 44 minutes of it.

“And then in the last minute, I just absolutely lost it — I had this big speech planned and it all went out the window, and I was just like, ‘Just get this done and get it through’.”

Fresh off his retirement as a player and his wedding, Pucovski will now move on — starting with a stint as the Melbourne Cricket Club’s coach.

A commentary career could also beckon after impressing on Channel 7’s cricket coverage in recent summers.

The one-time Australian Test player last played a match in March 2024, when he was hit on the helmet by a delivery from Tasmania speedster Riley Meredith.

It was the 13th known concussion of his sporting career.

Pucovski’s ongoing issues include regular headaches, fatigue, motion sickness, dizzy spells and struggling with “things on my left side”.

“I’m not going to be playing cricket again,” Pucovski told SEN.

“In the couple of months post that (last concussion) I struggled to get anything done, walking around the house was a struggle.

“My fiancee was annoyed because I didn’t contribute to chores. I was sleeping a lot.

“From there it’s been a tough year, a lot of the symptoms didn’t go away, which has led me to this decision.

“The first few months were horrendous, but things didn’t leave me.

“It’s unfortunately gotten to a stage now where a year or so down the track (I am) still suffering, still don’t really have the answers I have been looking for in terms of why I am still getting these symptoms, and it’s come time to make this decision.

“When the symptoms are ongoing, it’s pretty frightening.”

Pucovski has had time to come to terms with the decision to retire.

He previously had multiple lengthy spells out of the game, but the last concussion he suffered more than a year ago meant his retirement became a mere formality.

“The technology isn’t quite there to understand what is what,” Pucovski said.

“When you have symptoms for over a year - and I’ve had others for numerous years — it can be quite difficult to see how can I get out to play professional sport again when I’m struggling to live my life how I want to.

“The hard bit to come to terms with, to a degree as well, is I know what I was like before I suffered these concussions, and I know what I’m like now.

“My family have noticed a bit of a difference in me as well, and my friends, and that part is quite scary, and it’s quite scary for them as well.”

- with AAP