The thing about cricket WAGS
Unlike the high-profile football and tennis WAGS (wives and girlfriends), the cricket cuties are just about coming into the picture, much to the chagrin of traditionalists like Michael Slater, who strongly feels they are an unnecessary distraction best kept away from hotel and dressing rooms like it was in the good old days, when their presence was not tolerated even in the same city, let alone the team hotel.
However, times are changing and cricket boards across the world have become more indulgent to playtime relationships. Can't really fault them, considering that cricket has become killingly 24X7 and life without wife is often pregnant with mental situations that can lead to killing the golden goose.
So, if Virender Sehwag came to England with wife Aarti and son Aryanveer, then most cricket boards have also created special provisions to accommodate the wives/families and companions of players wanting to bring them along. The rest of the 14 members in the Indian squad are here alone, though some in the support staff have their families with them. Coach Gray Kirsten's son Joshua is a regular feature at nets and quite familiar with the boys.
In fact, in the on-going T20 World Cup, most of the team managements have allowed players to travel and stay with their families though they will not pick up the tabs for the same. These WAGS are often spotted shopping or exploring the match cities, mostly in a cluster.
As New Zealand manager Stephen said, as many as four players in the squad are here with either their wives or their companions "as the Board feels building relationships and giving them time out with near and dear ones helps the players perform better. The New Zealand Board has made conscious efforts to facilitate the companions to attend all forms of tournaments," he added. Stephen, however, would not specify who among the players has company.
While some wives are here from Day One of the tourney, others like that of Pakistani skipper Younus Khan would be joining the squad only in the Super Eight stage. Shahid Afridi, who has since become a better bowler than a batsman, has brought along his wife and three daughters and regularly takes time off to take them around London, where the team is currently stationed.
Unlike the soccer WAGS, the cricket ones prefer to keep a low profile, though there are quite a few glamorous ones in the Australian squad, who have made news not just because of their glamour quotient but also because of fights and temper run ins, most infamously during the 2005 Ashes that Australia lost to England amid perceptions that the WAGS may have been part of the reason.
"It was apparent, when the guys returned to the hotel from Lord's, that some personality clashes had disrupted relations between wives and players. A guy would go out to dinner with his partner and hear bad things about someone else's partner. You could be sure that the same was happening somewhere else, in reverse. So it ended up that some of the guys were suffering from their divided loyalties, Adam Gilchrist revealed in his recent book True Colors.
Then there was talk of Brett Lee's estranged wife Liz being at the centre of several feuds involving the WAGS over the last few years.
So, Victoria Beckham may be the most famous WAG of them all, but Aussie Pup Michael Clarke's fiancé Lara Bingle is not too far behind and the same can be said for Shane Watson's girlfriend Lee Furlong.
While, Bingle is a celebrated model, Lee is a well-known TV sports journalist who finds the label of being world's No 1 WAG, after a UK poll, embarrassing. Both were expected at the World Cup before Australia was ousted.
Recently, Cricket Australia had come under a lot of criticism when it invited 25 of the team members' wives/girlfriends to attend a pre-Ashes training camp on the Sunshine Coast, apparently to boost not just their personal relationship but also their winnability in the all-important up coming Test series. However, only half the WAGS could make it to this camp with work commitments keeping most like Bingle and Furlong away.
Though the Australian team is out of the T20 World Cup, it continues to be in England to wait and prepare for the upcoming Ashes series in July. Cricket Australia has designated the first two Tests as "visitor enabled" after which the WAGS would have to return home.
In Australia, Michael Clarke and Lara Bingle are cricket's celebrity couple but skipper Ricky Ponting's wife Rianna is also a happening figure in the WAGS scene and will be in England "soon" to join her spouse.
Now, some of these WAGS are unique themselves. Like athletics champion Tamsyn Lewis, who is the partner of Graham Manou, Australia's backup wicket-keeper. Pacemaker Mitchel Johnson's partner is a karate champion but is best known for her famous wardrobe malfunction at the Allan Border Medal ceremony earlier this year.
As South African manager Michael Owen admitted: "The presence of WAGS is a conscious programme to save families from splitting up due to long tours away from home." And that's the reason why 'many' from the South African squad are in Nottingham with companions, be it Jean Paul Duminy's partner or Dale Steyn and his actress girlfriend Jeanne Kietzmann or Jacques Kallis' model companion Shamone Jardim.
The last time the cricket WAGS were in the news was during the more fun-filled IPL 2 season at South Africa, which preceded the World Cup. Then, England batsman Kevin Pietersen was spotted with his wife Jessica Taylor, a reality TV star who competed in TV's Dancing On Ice. Even Andrew Symonds' girlfriend Katie Johnson had joined the jamboree.
As for the T20 World Cup, certain officials insist this tournament is too rushed for the WAGS to get quality time with the players but the ICC has no law barring them. However, the cricket governing body neither has any special programmes to keep these ladies entertained nor would they be paying for their boarding and lodging, not them and not the respective Boards.
However, times are changing and cricket boards across the world have become more indulgent to playtime relationships. Can't really fault them, considering that cricket has become killingly 24X7 and life without wife is often pregnant with mental situations that can lead to killing the golden goose.
So, if Virender Sehwag came to England with wife Aarti and son Aryanveer, then most cricket boards have also created special provisions to accommodate the wives/families and companions of players wanting to bring them along. The rest of the 14 members in the Indian squad are here alone, though some in the support staff have their families with them. Coach Gray Kirsten's son Joshua is a regular feature at nets and quite familiar with the boys.
In fact, in the on-going T20 World Cup, most of the team managements have allowed players to travel and stay with their families though they will not pick up the tabs for the same. These WAGS are often spotted shopping or exploring the match cities, mostly in a cluster.
As New Zealand manager Stephen said, as many as four players in the squad are here with either their wives or their companions "as the Board feels building relationships and giving them time out with near and dear ones helps the players perform better. The New Zealand Board has made conscious efforts to facilitate the companions to attend all forms of tournaments," he added. Stephen, however, would not specify who among the players has company.
While some wives are here from Day One of the tourney, others like that of Pakistani skipper Younus Khan would be joining the squad only in the Super Eight stage. Shahid Afridi, who has since become a better bowler than a batsman, has brought along his wife and three daughters and regularly takes time off to take them around London, where the team is currently stationed.
Unlike the soccer WAGS, the cricket ones prefer to keep a low profile, though there are quite a few glamorous ones in the Australian squad, who have made news not just because of their glamour quotient but also because of fights and temper run ins, most infamously during the 2005 Ashes that Australia lost to England amid perceptions that the WAGS may have been part of the reason.
"It was apparent, when the guys returned to the hotel from Lord's, that some personality clashes had disrupted relations between wives and players. A guy would go out to dinner with his partner and hear bad things about someone else's partner. You could be sure that the same was happening somewhere else, in reverse. So it ended up that some of the guys were suffering from their divided loyalties, Adam Gilchrist revealed in his recent book True Colors.
Then there was talk of Brett Lee's estranged wife Liz being at the centre of several feuds involving the WAGS over the last few years.
So, Victoria Beckham may be the most famous WAG of them all, but Aussie Pup Michael Clarke's fiancé Lara Bingle is not too far behind and the same can be said for Shane Watson's girlfriend Lee Furlong.
While, Bingle is a celebrated model, Lee is a well-known TV sports journalist who finds the label of being world's No 1 WAG, after a UK poll, embarrassing. Both were expected at the World Cup before Australia was ousted.
Recently, Cricket Australia had come under a lot of criticism when it invited 25 of the team members' wives/girlfriends to attend a pre-Ashes training camp on the Sunshine Coast, apparently to boost not just their personal relationship but also their winnability in the all-important up coming Test series. However, only half the WAGS could make it to this camp with work commitments keeping most like Bingle and Furlong away.
Though the Australian team is out of the T20 World Cup, it continues to be in England to wait and prepare for the upcoming Ashes series in July. Cricket Australia has designated the first two Tests as "visitor enabled" after which the WAGS would have to return home.
In Australia, Michael Clarke and Lara Bingle are cricket's celebrity couple but skipper Ricky Ponting's wife Rianna is also a happening figure in the WAGS scene and will be in England "soon" to join her spouse.
Now, some of these WAGS are unique themselves. Like athletics champion Tamsyn Lewis, who is the partner of Graham Manou, Australia's backup wicket-keeper. Pacemaker Mitchel Johnson's partner is a karate champion but is best known for her famous wardrobe malfunction at the Allan Border Medal ceremony earlier this year.
As South African manager Michael Owen admitted: "The presence of WAGS is a conscious programme to save families from splitting up due to long tours away from home." And that's the reason why 'many' from the South African squad are in Nottingham with companions, be it Jean Paul Duminy's partner or Dale Steyn and his actress girlfriend Jeanne Kietzmann or Jacques Kallis' model companion Shamone Jardim.
The last time the cricket WAGS were in the news was during the more fun-filled IPL 2 season at South Africa, which preceded the World Cup. Then, England batsman Kevin Pietersen was spotted with his wife Jessica Taylor, a reality TV star who competed in TV's Dancing On Ice. Even Andrew Symonds' girlfriend Katie Johnson had joined the jamboree.
As for the T20 World Cup, certain officials insist this tournament is too rushed for the WAGS to get quality time with the players but the ICC has no law barring them. However, the cricket governing body neither has any special programmes to keep these ladies entertained nor would they be paying for their boarding and lodging, not them and not the respective Boards.
Publish on June 12, 2009, The Pioneer, http://www.dailypioneer.com/182333/The-thing-about-cricket-WAGS.html
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