Cricket Australia approves WAGs' tour

u00a0In a move that deserves consideration by the Board of Control for Cricket in India as well, Cricket Australia (CA) has invited wives and girlfriends to a team camp before the players leave for England in June for the Twenty20 World Cup and the Ashes series.

The groundbreaking initiative is intended to help ease the strain on family life caused by long periods away from home, as is the case with the Indian players as well.

CA operations manager Michael Brown is quoted as saying: "We are in an unprecedented period of playing cricket and we are conscious of the number of new players into the team and the number of new partners, young families, newly married players.

"It is a great opportunity for us to take a more holistic approach to welfare management, relationships and (to) work with some experts.

The Australian Cricketers Association is on record as saying the joint effort with CA to look after the families was "one of the biggest issues for us" in new pay deal negotiations.