Life on tour can be an emotional rollercoaster of sorts for everyone involved - perhaps the most difficult part for the girls being the moment they have to leave their partner and the rest of the group behind. Last week we bade farewell to Anna, Tessa and Keira who were among the first of our 'team' to fly back to Australia and from her tray-table high in the sky somewhere over Europe or the Middle East, tour buddy Keira Wills has penned today's blog.
"Departure day - a term that is frequently used by myself and my tour buddies when the boys leave home to start a tour. It is also the day I absolutely dread and I know that most, if not all of the girls dread it too. Once again I have been dreading this 'departure day' for the past four weeks, only this time it was ME that was required to depart the tour and head back to Melbourne, leaving my partner Matt and my friends in the UK to continue the tour of England. Full-time university study, working and coaching netball restricts me from travelling for extended periods of time and on this occasion, four weeks of the three months or so Matt's away was my absolute limit.
It's always tough for any of us girls to leave our boys and head home after being on tour with them, knowing that they won't be joining us at home for a considerable amount of time afterwards. But this time I also found it that little bit tougher leaving my tour buddies and friends on the tour too. Most of the girls who I have had the pleasure of travelling around England with over the last three weeks are able to stay on until after the next couple of Tests or even through until the end of the tour. I hate the thought of missing out on more fun days with the girls hanging out at the hotel, in the local towns and at the cricket.
In addition to watching the men's cricket and keeping track of their progress from home, I will also be keeping up to date with the progress of the Australian women's cricket team, the Southern Stars in their own battle to retain the Ashes over the coming weeks. To the girls and especially my friend and tour buddy Alyssa Healy, I wish you all the best and can't wait to follow your journey to once again bring the Ashes home to Australia.
So it's back to reality for me. Bring on the next few months which will see me take on an extremely full schedule with the hope that it will make the next seven weeks go by all the more quickly. Good luck boys, I look forward to my sleepless nights over the next few weeks and GO AUSSIES!!" - KW
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| Keira saying goodbye to the littlest girl in our tour group, Romy |
