In praise of Wives and Girlfriends

There's no two ways about it. Wives and girlfriends of cricketers get cheesed off during the season.

For a start, there's the fact that most of the summer's weekends are disrupted by their cricketing partner's absence. In the week there will probably be at least one net session and endless phone calls about last week's game/next week's game/team selection/individual performances/team tactics/best place for a beer after the match. Even if us cricketers agree to a summer holiday away, we will spend Saturday afternoon on the phone listening to team updates as our foot-tapping, folded-arms wives and girlfriends (WAGs) look sternly on.

In fairness, all of this adds up to a pretty raw deal for those WAGs who have no interest in the game.

To compound this misery further, we cricketers sometimes do not help ourselves. I had personal experience this week when (having declared my availability last week) I suddenly remembered late in the week that the forthcoming Saturday was my wedding anniversary.

So here is the dilemma. In my own mind, a dilemma of Hamletesque proportions. Do I let down my skipper and the team by pulling out of Saturday's match? Or do I upset my gorgeous wife by spending most of our anniversary on the cricket field?

Well, I didn't bowl but I did take a catch and I got a majestic 13 with the bat so the day wasn't totally wasted.

For those of you that feel a sense of injustice here on behalf of my wife, I want to reassure you that I love her dearly and did not forget it was a special day. There was a card and a beautiful bouquet. I chilled a bottle of champagne and after I returned from the match we spent a late warm summer evening on the patio with candles, light Mediterranean food, the scent of honeysuckle and some lovely memories of our seventeen years together.

When I woke up this morning she was gone.

I'm joking. It's Father's Day and she wouldn't do that. She's waiting until tomorrow (still joking).

So on behalf of cricketers everywhere I say this to our WAGs: We're sorry. We love you. Don't leave us.

To my fellow cricketers: See you next week lads.