Fatherhood poses dilemma for touring players

Times have changed in cricket. Where once cricketers on long overseas tours pushed thoughts of home and family to the back of their minds, now players readily interrupt their overseas trips to fly home when fatherhood beckons.
Not everyone approves. England's Andrew Strauss invited criticism when he decided before his team's current seven-week tour of Pakistan that he would leave early to be with wife Ruth for the birth of their first child.
He flew home last week after scoring 44 runs in his four Test innings, convincing some he was distracted by his impending departure.
"I respect his decision," said former England player Jonathan Agnew, now a BBC cricket commentator, "but I feel he should either have committed to the whole tour or not at all."
Strauss felt he was simply heeding a more important priority in his life than cricket: the demands and responsibilities of family life.
"I have always believed there are some things in life that are more important than cricket," Strauss said. "This, for me, is one of them and the England management have been very supportive."
Former England all-rounder Ian Botham, who was captain for 12 Tests in 1980 and 1981, disapproves.
"It might be a modern thing to return home but I wouldn't do it even now," Botham said. "What could I do? The way I see it is that I'm there to play cricket for my country and I'd be no use back home."
Botham said he missed the births of his two daughters because of touring commitments and witnessed his son Liam's birth only because he was injured and could not play at the time.
DUAL PURPOSE: England captain Michael Vaughan will fly home for the birth of his second child after this week's third and final test against Pakistan in Lahore. His trip has a dual purpose as he will also visit a specialist about his injured knee.
For the birth of his first child, daughter Tallulah Grace, Vaughan left early during play in a home Test match against New Zealand as the maternity hospital was just 48 kms from the match in Leeds.
Australia's Adam Gilchrist was given paternity leave last year and missed the entire tri-nations event against Pakistan and India in the Netherlands. He remained in his native Perth with wife Mel to see the birth of Annie Jean.
South Africa's Shaun Pollock missed a Test match in England to return home for the birth of daughter Jemma, and New Zealand's Brendon McCullum flew back early from England.
"Things have changed," England coach Duncan Fletcher said on the morning of Strauss's departure. "We leave it to the player to make the choice.
"From my point of view, if we say no and something happens, that decision has to live with you. It's up to the individual. If he wants to go back and feels it's important, it's his decision and I have no problems with that."
Many cricketers from previous eras have agreed with Botham, though Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer, an England batsman in the 1970s, said he had no problem with paternity leave for cricketers.
"I asked my club Kent if I could attend the birth of my second son in 1982 but was told that I could not because there was a championship match that I was required to play in," Woolmer said. "There should be flexibility for such circumstances."
HEAVY DEMANDS: Overseas cricket tours, often two or three months long on an increasingly congested calendar, make heavy demands on players who often feel torn between loyalty to their team and family life.
Former England players Graham Thorpe and Darren Gough missed the births of their children while on England duty. Both have subsequently been divorced.
Nasser Hussain, the former England captain, was determined not to miss the arrival of his second child. Before England's 2002 tour of Australia, he flew out early to settle his wife Karen into a Perth hospital and he joined her for the induced birth between Tests.
Pakistan cricket author Qamar Ahmed says that the practice of leaving tours to attend the birth of a child is a trait of western cultures.
"Asian families are more often closer and feel it is as much their responsibility to care for the woman and baby as it is the father's job," Qamar said. "So therefore players from Asian cricket nations do not feel this pressure to return from overseas tours."
In the distant past, players did not get a choice. England players visiting Australia, for example, or Pakistan cricketers touring England, often travelled by sea and getting home quickly was not an option.
Air travel produced a new dilemma for touring players, one which England Ashes hero Andrew Flintoff, who missed a one-day international in 2004 for the birth of his daughter, will have to face again next year. His second child is due during England's tour of India, which starts on February 25.