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Barmy Army threaten boycott
24/11/2006 16:02 - (SA)
Brisbane - England's Barmy Army threatened to boycott the rest of the Ashes series on Thursday, accusing Australia's "fun police" of ruining the atmosphere at the first Test in Brisbane.
The English support group complained they were being treated like children by overzealous security guards at Brisbane's Gabba and were fuming after their trumpeter was thrown out of the ground for playing his instrument.
Barmy Army founder Paul Burnham described the ejection as "surreal" and accused Cricket Australia of trying to curb England's fans as part of their campaign to win back the Ashes.
"It seems to me that Cricket Australia just want to win, full stop," Burnham said.
"They believe the Barmy Army will help England win so it just seems everything is geared to try and make sure there is no fun in the game.
"We just want to come over and have a good time... not to be treated like school children."
Burnham said many England fans were so disillusioned with their treatment at the Gabba that they were boycotting the ground and watching the game at their hotels.
He said the Barmy Army would consider cancelling a wide range of activities planned around the Ashes series if the heavy-handed treatment continued at other Test venues.
"Absolutely. We are waiting to see how it develops before giving advice to people coming over (from England) for the Sydney and Melbourne Tests," he said.
Cricket Australia has adopted a zero-tolerance approach to crowd antics after South African players were subjected to racist taunts by Australian fans earlier this year.
More than 40 fans were ejected from the Gabba during the opening day of the Ashes on Thursday.
They included including Barmy Army trumpeter Bill Cooper, whose brass horn is deemed a banned item under Gabba regulations alongside weapons, guns and knives.
Australia's dominance of the Test's opening stages may have subdued the Barmy Army in any case, but supporter Craig Gill said the English fans had a proud tradition of singing loudest when their team was at its worst.
He blamed Cricket Australia's ticket allocation, which favoured home fans, for dispersing the England supporters throughout the Gabba, meaning there was no focal bloc of fans to originate chants and songs.
The Gabba has beefed up security with 130 police officers and more than 300 security guards and ushers on duty to control the crowd.
Authorities are also monitoring the stands with 85 security cameras, almost double the number installed across Brisbane's entire central business district.
Crowd members are being urged to "dob in a yob" (inform on a lout) by sending mobile phone text messages to stadium security.
Activities such as the "Mexican wave" are prohibited and people caught bouncing beach balls through the crowd during quiet periods of play not only face losing their ball but also being banned from the ground for 24 hours.
Comment was being sought from Cricket Australia.
- AFP
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