Cricket Australia have made the bold decision to BAN WAGs from the player’s hotel rooms for the current Cricket World Cup and Ashes series. If you like Australia for the Cricket World Cup with their WAGless influence this summer, then you may as well take up an offer from bet365.
The Aussies are second-favourites for the trophy but I personally like Pakistan at a bigger price, despite their recent loss to the West Indies.
Away from the betting however, the Australian federation have made the bold decision to ban all the players’ wives and girlfriends from their hotel rooms during the majority of the tournament, in an attempt to concentrate the minds of their key members.
The team manager Gavin Dovey has claimed that the idea is to find some ‘balance’, but admits that it would be ‘ridiculous’ to ban family time for the entirety of the competition.
Team manager Gavin Dovey said: “We want to get the balance right with the best outcome for everyone. There are a lot of challenges but what we’ve tried to work out when we think it’s important for the group to be on their own, knuckle down and focus on the task.
“Then you look at when it’s important to be around your families.
“We can’t go a whole World Cup and Ashes and not have families as a big part of it. That would be ridiculous over such a long period of time.”
Former star Ian Healy revealed that similar stances have been used in the past, highlighting the need for focus.
Australian cricket legend Ian Healy added: “They weren’t allowed on tour until after the series had been won.
“Your mind needs to be completely focused on it. Cricket is a sport that requires complete concentration.”
The All Blacks banned WAGs from their hotel rooms during the Rugby World Cup in 2007. The All Blacks manager at the time, Darren Shand claimed: “Every player is different in how they prepare.
“It’s pretty common knowledge that most sporting teams at home do the best, so we try to create an environment like that when we are away. It’s up to individuals to make the best decisions; we have to trust them.”
Will Cricket Australia pay the price for separating the players from their families? Do we all need a little bit more WAGs around?
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