Sydney, May 26 (Inditop): Former Australian opener Michael Slater has said that wives and girlfriends are a major distraction on tour, and has also rubbished Cricket Australia for inviting the WAGS to be part of its Ashes planning camp on the Sunshine Coast.
Slater, who separated from his former wife Stephanie during the 2001 Ashes tour, insists WAGS will be a distraction Australia can do without in England.
“The WAGS being at a camp when you’re setting up for your next six months of cricket, I don’t know that that’s the way it needs to go, I don’t think it’s right,” Slater told the Courier Mail.
CA was hoping most of the wives and partners of Australia’s 25 top cricketers would attend the Coolum camp as part of a feel-good plan to ease the strain on family life and short-circuit any personality clashes.
But The Courier-Mail has learned that only about half of the WAGS have been able to attend the camp with many citing work commitments.
Lara Bingle, the glamour fiancee of vice-captain Michael Clarke, was nowhere to be seen in camp. But Jessica Bratich (partner of Mitchell Johnson), Michelle Clark (wife of Stuart), Karina Haddin (wife of Brad), Dianne Hauritz (wife of Nathan) and Tegan Bollinger (wife of Doug) all made appearances.
Many of the WAGS are set to visit England during the CA-designated “visitors period” spanning the first and second Tests in July – however Slater insists they should stay at home.
“I came into the side in an era when (former captain) Allan Border was saying wives and girlfriends are not allowed into the hotel foyer until we win the series. Now, that’s old school and that’s outdated but that was the regime and what he thought was the right way to go and we won the series, they won under the same regime also in the late eighties,” Slater said.
However Cricket Australia is standing by the WAGS, with coach Tim Nielsen insisting it should be an advantage to have them on tour.
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