Players struggle with real lives - Sutherland

James Sutherland, the chief executive officer of Cricket Australia, has expressed worries about the effect increased professionalism is having on the lives of Australian cricketers.

"We send mixed messages," said Sutherland in the 2004-05 edition of Wisden Australia, which is published today. "We tell players: `We want you to be the best you can be. You need to do this, this and this to improve. We've got a training session at 6am and we'll be back together at 3pm.' But if it prevents players developing in other ways, what is that doing for them in real life?"

Sutherland rejected suggestions that modern players do not have time to develop life skills beyond cricket. "That's absolute crap," he said. "These guys, they do not know what busy is. That's a great pity. Players at state level shouldn't go round thinking themselves in clover to the extent that they can simply fritter the winter away not furthering themselves."

But Sutherland did admit that only "10 to 20 players at any one time" earned enough money to justify the sacrifices they make in becoming cricketers. "That means there are 120 to 130 players making significant sacrifices that mean their transition when their cricket career is over will be difficult," he said. "We haven't got it right yet."

Sutherland's interview with Wisden Australia marks the 100th anniversary of the inaugural meeting of the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket, now called Cricket Australia. In it, he defends Australia's controversial decision to tour Zimbabwe last May as "the lesser of two evils".

Sutherland said that if the Australian government did not approve of the Australian side playing against Zimbabwe - whose team was selected partly on the basis of skin colour - then it should have asked them to stay home. "If they'd said that ... then we wouldn't have gone," Sutherland said. "If the government was serious about that and about the issues in Zimbabwe and an association by Australia as a country ... then clearly it should have taken a much stronger stance."

Sutherland also revealed his thoughts on the Prime Minister John Howard's claim that Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan throws the ball because "they proved it in Perth with that thing". "I think it [Howard's comment] would have been better left unsaid," Sutherland said. "Needless to say, a Prime Minister's comment will inevitably get airplay, and those about Muralitharan especially so. But I'm not sure the comments were directly responsible for Murali not touring. I don't think he wanted to come."