The Spouses' Story
While West Indies fans all over are relishing the thought of the coming months of international cricket, there is a small group of women that are not so happy. The West Indies team departed the Caribbean on the 25th of October 2003, and will not be heading home from South Africa until February 4, 2004. Even though the extra shopping money is welcome, a young child will tell you that a shiny new toy cannot replace daddy being home for Christmas.
A handful of the members of the current team are married, others have significant (or not so significant) others. Whatever the case, almost four months of not seeing your loved ones can put a strain on any relationship. While they know the nature of the job, it is still difficult, especially during the holidays when everyone would like to be with the ones they love. Of course there is the phone or the Internet, and you can show your child daddy on the television or the web cam, but it hardly comes close to having the person next to you.
It is common for wives, girlfriends and even offspring to travel to venues to spend time with their spouses, especially when there is a long tour. In this case however, there might be a marked absence of West Indian women in Africa this time around due to the outrageous price of air travel made even worse by the holiday season. Fares are costing upwards of three thousand dollars and then there are hotel fees, domestic travel, and other expenses to consider. What is a bit hard to believe is the fact that the families themselves have to foot the entire bill, because the West Indies Cricket Board offers no assistance whatsoever.
Every airline ticket, every hotel room, and every meal is the sole responsibility of the player who has his spouse along. There are no provisions made for families by the West Indies Cricket board, except that sometimes a kind liaison officer overseas might help with transportation and other needs. This is incredulous when compared to the support system that other international cricket boards provide to foster family life.
The English, South African, and Australian cricket boards all make provisions for their players' families going on tour. Everything from airfare to hotel rooms are taken care of for a specified time period, with special activities planned by some boards for wives and children while they are on tour. In an article by Derek Pringle, it was noted that during Australian tours in certain venues families were put up in apartment-like suites. Other boards go as far as to send out research personnel to ensure that hotels are conducive to families, and make necessary preparations for their arrival.
It is disappointing, to say the least, that the West Indies Cricket Board does not consider family life to be a priority. Some members make no bones about being against families traveling with players. It cannot only be hard on the women, but the players themselves. It would be nice to come home after a hard day to have someone to comfort you and keep you company, massage away your aches and pains, and just relax, especially if the day was a disappointing one. It seems that what is being promoted is the concept of not taking sand to the beach, and the encouragement of promiscuity leading to the destruction of families. People have certain needs, and especially if you are pushed, temptation is difficult to resist.
It is a crucial matter and one that the WICB needs to look into in order to make life easier for the players, especially if they are to be abroad for such long periods of time. Even if a player is going away on contract in county cricket for example, he is usually given a companion ticket. This is the very least that can be done so players don't have to spend thousands of dollars of their earnings. One wonders if funds are difficult to come by when board members are to take extended trips. We can only hope that the West Indies Players Association will try to get the ball rolling on this issue.
The married players on the current team are Mervyn Dillon, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Vasbert Drakes, and Ricardo Powell. However Powell is returning home and if selected, will return to South Africa for the one-day series in January and February 2004. Mrs. Dillon has traveled extensively with her husband and has hardly missed a tour, Mrs. Chanderpaul to a lesser extent. However, neither has been spotted in Zimbabwe so far and it remains to be seen whether they will make the trip to South Africa.
Other spouses, girlfriends and family members might miss out as a result of the exorbitant expense, and that is a sad case since the players hardly have any choice than to be thousands of miles away earning a living and representing their region.