As he battles the financial fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, former quick says he’s yet to receive a clear explanation for the health issue that ended his playing career
Health mystery continues as restrictions bite for Hastings
Former Australia fast bowler John Hastings has revealed the restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic has forced him to temporarily close his two businesses and lay off more than 20 staff members.
Since his retirement from cricket in 2018, Hastings has opened a cafe on the Mornington Peninsula, just outside of Melbourne, as well as a fitness enterprise called Strong that mixes rowing with Pilates.
But with social distancing measures in place across the country, Hastings has been forced to close the doors on both businesses, although he hopes to re-open once the restrictions are lifted.
"I've been lucky enough over the last couple of years to work pretty hard and try and set up a couple of businesses," Hastings told The Unplayable Podcast.
"The cafe, Mr Frankie ... we had 16 staff there that we had to let go. (And) we had to let our six (Strong) trainers go as well. So we've probably seen it at the coalface more than most.
"It's pretty tough. Letting people go that are single parents and watching how hard people are doing it."
The 34-year-old said making his cafe takeaway-only was not a viable option.
"The operating expenses at our business, there's not much margin for error anyway," he said. "And when you're not open as a full restaurant and cafe, you can't really justify it. You'd just be bleeding money.
"So we've just tried to lock down both businesses and just try and get some assistance from the government and make sure that we hopefully have a business for our staff to come back to when this is all over."
Hastings added he's never been given an official diagnosis for the lung condition that forced him into early retirement 18 months ago.
Having retired from first-class cricket, the fast bowler had hoped to continue his career in T20s but was forced to give the game away because he would constantly cough up blood when bowling at training.
While he's been able to maintain a high level of fitness in retirement, his participation in a bushfire charity match earlier this year proved that his health problems persist whenever he attempts to bowl.
"I rolled the arm over off a couple of steps and it didn't feel great," he said. "It felt similar to what it was, without any of the blood.
"I've been training pretty hard in the last six months and nothing's re-surfaced.
"It was pretty weird at the time and ever since, I can't really replicate that pressure at the bowling crease anywhere else I train. So I haven't had any other issues, touch wood.
"It was something that was pretty unexplainable and still to this day, they've got no real diagnosis of it other than the fact there was probably a bit of vasculitis in my lungs and I had some inflamed blood vessels."