Australian delivery forces Hussain to go for early run

There will be an empty seat on the plane that takes the England team to Australia a week tomorrow. Even though it belongs to their captain, Nasser Hussain, England supporters should fear not – because their leader will be in Perth to greet the team when they land.

For Hussain starts his Ashes tour tomorrow, and joining him throughout its duration will be his wife Karen, their son Jacob and a nanny. The reason for their early departure is that Mrs Hussain is pregnant and Thursday is the last day she is allowed to fly.

In most jobs the family travelling with their husband when he is away for such periods of time is understandable and accepted, but in English cricket this is an unprecedented step. In the past – apart from that infamous tour of Zimbabwe and New Zealand in 1996-97 when wives and girlfriends were banned by the England management – certain windows on a tour have been set aside as acceptable periods when partners were allowed to join, but never before has the England and Wales Cricket Board permitted them to stay for an entire trip.

Not only does this show how enlightened attitudes have become at the ECB, it also signifies how high the demands are on international cricketers these days. Being away from home for such long periods undoubtedly puts stress on a relationship and one only has to look at Graham Thorpe and Darren Gough – whose marriages have fallen apart in the last 12 months – to see this.

"We have left leaving for Australia as late as we can, but this is the latest date she can fly," said Hussain. "If Karen did not come away I would miss the birth of our second child and I would not see her the baby or Jacob for five months.

"Karen will be based in Perth, but is not part of the tour. When I go off on my travels she will stay with my sister Benazir, who lives in Perth. It will be tough for her, but I hope to be there for the birth on 20 November, the First Test in Brisbane will be over and England only have a practice game in Hobart."

Once the mother and child are allowed to fly, they will move to Melbourne and Sydney for the Tests over the Christmas and New Year period.

The reason why wives being present throughout the duration of a tour has been frowned on is that they were thought to get in the way of players as they attempt to bond. Spending all their spare time with their other halves rather than their team-mates can affect the focus and spirit of a side.

Aware of this, Hussain said: "We normally want the initial bit of a tour to ourselves so we can bond and get to know each other again, but the logistics of Karen being pregnant have stopped it.

"Duncan [Fletcher, the England coach] and the ECB have been excellent. They have understood the situation and helped as much as they can. All they asked was that I had cleared it with Duncan, which I had.

"It is not just me who is being better looked after. With the amount of cricket we are playing there is no longer a summer and a winter season, it is constant cricket and all the boys have had the period of time their families are allowed out increased to six weeks."

While Hussain is in Perth, David Morgan, the new chairman of the ECB, hopes to finalise an extension to the contract of Fletcher. "We want to get this sorted before he leaves with the England squad for Australia," said Morgan

"The ECB still has the objective of making the England cricket team the best in the world by 2007. I have worked with Duncan at Glamorgan and am fully aware of his qualities. He has a big role to play if we are to reach this goal."

* Australia have called up Brad Williams to replace Jason Gillespie for the final two Tests against Pakistan. The fast bowler strained his right calf in the closing stages of the 41-run victory in the first Test in Colombo on Monday. Williams, 27, has never played Test cricket, although he did make his international one-day debut last season. The second Test starts in Sharjah on Friday.