New Australian coach Darren Lehmann has reportedly thrown open the Ashes tour to the families of the players, in yet another significant cultural change to the team.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the family-free period, which was to cover both warm-up matches in Taunton and Worcester, has been scrapped by Lehmann, who instead invited the players' wives and girlfriends to join the tour whenever they like.
The report further said that the original plan under sacked coach Mickey Arthur was for the players' partners to meet the squad in Nottingham before the first Test weekend.
Lehmann's decision to relax the rules is consistent with his promise to foster a more inclusive atmosphere around the team, and encourage a more balanced, family-focused perspective among the players, and he said that although success and playing well is necessary, it is also important for players to grow their lives off the field.
According to Lehmann, enjoying the company of a family or girlfriend, along with learning about themselves and different cultures and people, is a big part of a player's individual growth.
The report further said that the decision to open the tour to families is one of a sequence of changes made by Lehmann in an effort to defuse the tensions and create a happier vibe in the team, adding that Lehmann has also insisted that his players linger in the dressing room after each day's play to talk about the game.
However, the report added, the presence of families were not always a supporting factor for the team, with former cricketer Adam Gilchrist writing in his book 'True Colours' that personality clashes arose between some of the partners during the 2005 Ashes, which affected the performance of the affected players.
Former Australian captain Allan Border had banned wives from part of the 1989 tour because he wanted his emerging players to bond, which they did to win 4-nil.
Meanwhile, suspended batsman David Warner, who has been left under no illusions that he cannot afford another lapse in discipline, has been presented with a clean slate by Lehmann to push for selection at Trent Bridge, with Lehmann saying that he could not fault Warner's attitude in his first week as coach.
