Ashes 2010-11: WAGs arrive in Perth as England coach Andy Flower cautions players
The third Test match of the Ashes 2010/11 is scheduled to start from Thursday, December 16th, and England will be going to the WACA stadium at Perth eyeing a win that will win them the urn and retain the Ashes title.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746, meanwhile, will be vying for a win so that they can stay in the running for the Ashes. Australia selectors have made some surprise choices in the hope to better the team’s chances of making a comeback – although their
selections have met with quite some criticism. Phil Hughes has played only seven Tests in his career so far and was a disappointment in last year’s Ashes. And http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Michael-Beer-c1949 has played only five first-class matches so far – but the youngster did come with some
strong backing from retired spin bowler Shane Warne, who himself was rumoured to be under consideration for selection in the Ashes side as a desperate measure.
It remains to be seen whether Hughes and Beer work out for Australia, but there may yet be another new factor that could go in the Aussies’ favour: the wives and girlfriends, more commonly known as WAGs, of the England players.
England coach Andy Flower had earlier “banned” WAGs and other family members from joining players on the tour, but upon negotiating with representatives of his unhappy players, allowed for a compromise.
"It is quite a tricky decision to make," said Flower, “We are setting dates for families to be allowed - when players and families are adults and want to be free to make their own decisions about which country they travel to or
the timings of those trips."
Flower said that banning families had been a necessary step on the part of the management, in order to embed training principles without any distractions, and that the team had been fully informed. "We're here to win the Test series
- we aren't here for a family holiday," said the coach.
As the WAGs flew into Perth and were met with embraces from joyous players, Flower could only say that “if anything, it is a good distraction.”
Meanwhile, James Anderson has just returned to Perth after making a quick trip to England to witness the birth of his daughter. Flower was concerned about the tiring schedule of the bowler, but said that he had allowed Anderson’s
leave because a “balance” was necessary for a better performance.
Whether the arrival of the WAGs does indeed prove to be a “good” distraction for the England side, or an untimely mistake, remains to be seen. But you can be sure that Australia, down 1-0 in the series and desperately looking for
a way back up, will be hoping for the latter.
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