Australia sticks with family tour policy

Ricky Ponting can continue to look to his wife for inspiration in stadiums around the world © Getty Images

Cricket Australia has no plans to prevent the families of Australian players from staying with them on overseas tours.

Melbourne's Sunday Herald Sun suggested that the practice was partly to blame for Australia's 2-1 Ashes loss in England. A CA spokesman said the organisation did not want to scrap the policy amid speculation that players' partners and children would no longer be permitted to stay with them while overseas. "Is it in the top 10 things we are worried about? Not at all."

Family members have been staying with cricketers since Mark Taylor's captaincy in the 1990s because team management thought they would perform better if they were content and settled. The practice, which has been a part of Australia's successes over recent years, was looked at as part of a CA review of the national side, which began after the loss to England in the fourth Test at Trent Bridge in August. But the spokesman said CA was "absolutely totally committed" to continuing to let players have their partners and children stay with them on tours.

The Australian Cricketers' Association was angered by suggestions that the practice should be scrapped. Paul Marsh, the chief executive of ACA, said: "Apportioning blame for the loss of a series to the presence of families on tour is a joke. Our players travel the world for extended periods of time, and having their partners and families with them brings some sense of normality to an otherwise lonely and stressful emotional situation".

"The players feel very strongly that the presence of their families on tour only improves their state of mind and therefore their performances. While the team has been winning, the presence of families hasn't been an issue. It is disappointing that on the back of a close series loss people are jumping at shadows."