By now most of the player's partners have arrived at the hotel in Nottingham and like any tour, we're all looking for things to do while the boys are off at training.
Having lived in 'Notts' for the last few months (and being the only girl with a car) I took a few of my tour buddies on a drive to one of Nottingham's biggest attractions, Wollaton Hall (featured as the Wayne Manor in Batman: The Dark Knight Rises). The other girls spent the day wandering around the city centre, unpacking, sleeping (though most were looking for opportunities to fight their jet lag) or in Carly's case catching up with local family.
With just two more sleeps until the first Ashes Test, one of the questions I've been asked is "what are you wearing on Wednesday?". Contrary to popular belief, the majority of us don't have access to stylists or designer wardrobes but I'd be lying if I said that none of us cared too much about the way we look. It's hard not to feel pressure to look extra nice when there's always the chance you'll be photographed or beamed around the world on television (the last time that happened I was allegedly scoffing down a large plate of food.. gasp!).
During this Test match it's likely we'll be sitting among the general public (outside of Australia and outside of our official visitor period we aren't always afforded corporate hospitality) so the general consensus at the moment is to wear 'something casual' to blend in with the crowd. For me that usually equates to a summery dress, thongs, maybe some zinc (Hussey-style) and given most of the seats are in direct sunshine, a wide-brimmed hat.
It may sound simple enough, but the trick for us (as player's partners) in these situations is how to stay incognito - not a particularly easy task when you're in a large group of girls at a cricket match. Once one person in the crowd realises that you're part of the Australian cricketing fraternity, within minutes everyone in your section will most likely know about it. As you can imagine, that can put you in a rather perilous situation if you are a direct family member of a player who has taken no wickets or scored no runs.
Having lived in 'Notts' for the last few months (and being the only girl with a car) I took a few of my tour buddies on a drive to one of Nottingham's biggest attractions, Wollaton Hall (featured as the Wayne Manor in Batman: The Dark Knight Rises). The other girls spent the day wandering around the city centre, unpacking, sleeping (though most were looking for opportunities to fight their jet lag) or in Carly's case catching up with local family.
With just two more sleeps until the first Ashes Test, one of the questions I've been asked is "what are you wearing on Wednesday?". Contrary to popular belief, the majority of us don't have access to stylists or designer wardrobes but I'd be lying if I said that none of us cared too much about the way we look. It's hard not to feel pressure to look extra nice when there's always the chance you'll be photographed or beamed around the world on television (the last time that happened I was allegedly scoffing down a large plate of food.. gasp!).
During this Test match it's likely we'll be sitting among the general public (outside of Australia and outside of our official visitor period we aren't always afforded corporate hospitality) so the general consensus at the moment is to wear 'something casual' to blend in with the crowd. For me that usually equates to a summery dress, thongs, maybe some zinc (Hussey-style) and given most of the seats are in direct sunshine, a wide-brimmed hat.
It may sound simple enough, but the trick for us (as player's partners) in these situations is how to stay incognito - not a particularly easy task when you're in a large group of girls at a cricket match. Once one person in the crowd realises that you're part of the Australian cricketing fraternity, within minutes everyone in your section will most likely know about it. As you can imagine, that can put you in a rather perilous situation if you are a direct family member of a player who has taken no wickets or scored no runs.
