G Hawthorne: Precious little time at home for SA's players

5th September 1997

Precious little time at home for SA players

By Guy Hawthorne

Being a professional sportsman can be glamorous and the financial rewards substantial, but there are down-sides sometimes to reaching that pinnacle.

The obvious disadvantages include becoming instantly recognisable and being constantly hunted by autograph hunters.

But the biggest drawback - particularly from the point of view of the family man - is the amount of travelling done by an individual, especially in a sport like cricket.

Sure, it's great to be able to travel to exotic destinations at someone else's expense. But there is a price to be paid for the privilege of seeing the world.

Take the SA cricket teams, and the irrepressible Natal offspinner Pat Symcox, who is a family man, as an example.

In what will be the busiest international season in SA cricket history, Bob Woolmer's side visit Pakistan, Australia and England in the next 12 months, and both Pakistan and Sri Lanka tour this country for test series.

It has been calculated that Symcox, if he had to play in every local international match and be part of the SA squad for every tour in the forthcoming season, would spend precious little time at home in Durban.

In fact, from September 1 to the end of the domestic season in April next year - a total of 263 days - Symcox will spend just 27 nights at home if he plays in all South Africa's matches.

And, if he then goes on to tour England next winter, he will sleep in his own bed on 40 occasions in 383 days!

Quite a price for a family man to pay for fame.

Source:: The Star