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| A recent pic of skipper Border and wife Jane |
THE Ashes series is nearly upon us and the old question rears its head again: should the players' wives and girlfriends be allowed to travel to England during an Ashes series?
Things are certainly different today compared with my time. Players are paid more and are granted their own rooms. Players' partners have one trip a year paid for by Cricket Australia and everything is looked after for them. They have corporate hospitality and crèches at every ground. Good luck to them, I say, but things were different in my day.
We really couldn't afford to have them with us. If you did have your wife over, first you had to kick out your roommate and pay for his new room. We also had to pay for our partners' travel and have daily allowances for them. When wives did appear, it created a segregation within the team. It was evident during the 1981 and 1985 tours to England. It simply wasn't fair to players who couldn't afford to have their partners travel with them and it led to many problems.
My old skipper Allan Border was once quoted as saying, "When you think about it, the only reason you are in England is because your husband is playing cricket for Australia. That has to come first."
In 1981, the wives were not allowed to stay with their husbands in the team hotel, so most of the players stayed outside. This obviously ruined team spirit because the side was getting together only during a match.
In 1985, Australia changed its policy and the wives were allowed to stay in the hotel. It did work better but some players had young children with them and it ruined sleeping patterns.
In 1989, Border said there were to be no partners on tour until the Ashes were won. "Fair enough," said the players.
The problem was that some wives didn't agree with Border and travelled anyway. They were banned from the team hotel and not allowed to come within 200 metres of our residence.
We had a major problem at the Lord's Test. Player A wanted some extra nets and decided to stay at Lord's for extra training while the team went back to the hotel. After finishing his practice he walked over to look at the pitch and noticed a woman putting in the pitch microphones for Channel Nine. This particular woman was partnered with another player (who was not married at the time) but was "new" on the scene.
She said to Player A that she could drop him off at his hotel instead of opting for a cab and he agreed. When Player A was dropped off in front of the Westbury Hotel he gave her a "thank you" kiss on the cheek and realised he saved £15 along the way.He did not notice another player's wife across the road, witnessing what she thought was a new romance.
Player B's wife went to the telephone to advise Player A's wife that her husband was having a good time in London. Player A's wife gathered herself and her children to fly over and find out what was going on. It didn't take long before the truth came out. It unsettled the team for a while and it certainly unsettled Player A — and his bank balance!
Then there was the time when my roommate invited his wife to "our room" without my knowledge. I walked out of the shower naked only to notice my roommate's wife looking at me embarrassingly.
Players' wives and girlfriends must understand that the team is there to win the Ashes. The team must come first. Every decision the players make must be made on the basis that the team benefits first.
It was rumored that Shaun Tait got very lonely on the 2005 tour as he had no partner with him and his best friend was the coach driver! No player or player's wife tried to bring him into their "inner sanctum".
What a time it was for me and my teammates to celebrate the 1989 Ashes win with our wives and girlfriends in style at the end of the tour. Paul Hogan and his sidekick John Cornell decided to put on a wonderful party.
Each player was given his own limousine, varying from Rollers to Bentleys. There were 39 of us partying at an elegant restaurant called 90 Park Lane at the Dorchester Hotel.
Watching Merv Hughes eat foie gras terrine and carre d'agneau was a sight for sore eyes, as was watching him wash it all down with a beer. The big fella was in heaven! The players drank a Mersault white wine or a Lynch Bages red for the record. What wonderful memories.
- The Age |
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