Are Cricket Australia discriminating against the English?

[Mike]

I have sat near a trumpeter at the Oval last year and it does annoy when it goes off but it doesn't annoy as much as the singing for the simple reason that the singing continues indefinitely while the trumpet is played sporadically for short bursts.

The Barmy Army will have things more to their liking at Adelaide because they can all congregate on the hill near the scoreboard and sing and do mexican waves.

[Maranello]

Interesting article by Martin Samuel in today's Times (London) on this topic:

Being a Pom in Brisbane this week was not a whole lot of fun. Not much fun being an Aussie, either. There were barriers around the Gabba stadium, where the first Ashes Test was played, of the type you might throw across a street in Baghdad to stop a riot. They were there to prevent jay-walking. Everywhere you looked baseball-capped security men, many armed, eyeballed the paying customers suspiciously. They were on guard for offensive items. Beach balls, cool boxes, home-made sandwiches, trumpets, you know the sort of thing. All banned. Welcome to Western democracy, 2006. [...]

[A]t some time over the past two decades Australia became swamped in rules and regulations, taking its lead from the old country and, of course, America.[...]

The ridiculously overbearing security presence around the Gabba were nicknamed the fun police. They would not let supporters take rucksacks with drinks or sandwiches into the ground, but instead made them remove their rations and place them in a plastic bag. The rucksack could then be carried in, but only if it was in a plastic bag. This raised the bar for global stupidity, but do not expect the new standard to last long.

And we can moan and shake our heads, but there is a deadly serious by-product of this thinking. We, the English-speaking West, presume to export our way of life to the rest of the world and send administrators, lawmakers and law enforcers to carry out our missions. We deliver to foreign lands the same idiots who decree that our own citizens can’t be trusted to eat a sandwich while watching the cricket. Then when there is a disaster, we wonder why.

[acker]

I just watched the first episode of "An Aussie Go's Barmy" on "Fox 8" last night, the series where Hugh Jackman's (Wolverine) best mate (whatshisname ) joins the Barmy Army this ashes campaign.

Day One filmed at the Gabba (great) trumpeter gets thrown out, someone turns up as the Queen great stuff great telivision (thumbs up )
Day Two filmed at the Gabba until lunch then filmed at local hotel there after... mmmmm
Day Three no footage.. ?? are they still at the pub or did someone sleep in
Day Four early footage back at the pub..did get footage after tea surprisingly back inside the Gabba.
Day Five lots of footage about clouds and a wee little bit in the Gabba.

Have the Barmy army created new ground rules for a five day ticket, where you only actualy turn up for 2 days.

My Vote
Chalk Hotel Woolangabba ....... 1
Brisbane Cricket Ground ..........0

I dont think they discriminated, the days of people getting escorted from "bay 13" in the great southern stand at the MCG on Boxing day with suspected fractured skull's from 5 kilo ice blocks being thrown from the upper deck's is still recent history.
Hopefully not repeated history.

[flanflinger]

Originally Posted by Rachael

As for the trumpet: why should ANYONE wanting to watch the cricket be allowed to take such an item into the ground? One can neither observe the cricket through it, nor hear the commentary over it, and were one inconsiderate enough to blow on it without first leaving the ground one would surely be guilty of disturbing the peace and a fair target for ejection or prosecution!

Rachael,

You have not right to comment on the Barmy Army and how they enjoy their Cricket. You can't even be bothered to watch matches in England (where you live) let alone travel to support your team.

Paul Burnham (founder of the barmy army) says that membership is based on anyone who has gone to their ground and sang for their country. As you refuse to even state that you are a fan of your countries team, you have no right to criticise those who do choose to do so IMO.

[Ernest]

Originally Posted by flanflinger

Rachael,

You have not right to comment on the Barmy Army and how they enjoy their Cricket. You can't even be bothered to watch matches in England (where you live) let alone travel to support your team.

Well I have voted no because there is no proof.

But I would not like to be sat next to a trumpeter blaring away - I have enough on TV when those Horns are droning all day long.

I think CA could be making it tougher for England, but Austrlia are mentaly winners, England should take note of what is happening - if anything, and dish it back in England.

No good IMO moaning about it, that just makes England and their supporters look like losers.

[flanflinger]

Originally Posted by Ernest

But I would not like to be sat next to a trumpeter blaring away - I have enough on TV when those Horns are droning all day long.

Personally I am with Andrew Miller

http://blogs.cricinfo.com/tourdiarie...volun.php#more

Surely the sound of a properly trained musician is superior to a bunch of drunken chanting Englishmen... At least the Trumpet can stay in tune, and has a variety of songs!!

[Seamer]

Originally Posted by SixandOut

What do we think? I for one think CA are doing all they can to make it as uncomfortable as possible for English fans. First the whole palava over the Australian Family stuff, then they specifically seated English fans in sporadic areas around the ground,

Can you explain how C.A could possibly organise a system where English fans could all sit together? Impossible with an allocated seating system

Originally Posted by SixandOut

then they took away the Barmy Army's signature trumpet ,

The person sitting in front of him was probably extremely relieved too

Originally Posted by SixandOut

and cancelled mexican waves.

Mexican waves are all well and fine providing you are drunk (like i was )and don't mind beer, food, and god knows what else landing on top of you. They could'nt stop it anyway. But those that took their kids to the game were probably not too impressed

Originally Posted by SixandOut

But then they publically aired a song ridiculing the English during one of their organised entertainment things.?

Missed that. Can you provide actual info on what was sung?

Originally Posted by SixandOut

Apart from being humourless killjoys - are they picking on England?

I don't think so. Some English fans were ejected due to being drunk and disorderly but just as many Aussie fans were as well.
Bags that were too big to put under a seat were not allowed purely as they were a safety hazard. If someone tripped over one as they were trying to squeeze past the seats (a width of maybe 40cm - not much walking room) and fell, it would definatley have resulted in a serious injury. You cannot blame the Gabba for observing fundemental health and safety laws.
As to the large police presence, well until this war on terror fad runs it's little course, we just have to get used to living with big brother don't we. I reckon the English fans were far more inconvieneinced at Heathrow airport that they were at the Gabba.

All in all, English fans did not enjoy themselves because England played poorly meaning English fans has little to cheer about.

[Beny]

Weasel words. Done entirely to prevent vocal support for England. Saying anything else makes you look silly.

And I suppose you belive there are alien body's at Area 51... I was postulating that breaking the Barmy Army up might be a good meathod of crowd control- I doubt that's the reason it happened.

As Seamer said, On no other tour of Australia have the Venues been sold out like this- I'm sure it just happened.

[south beds mikey]

Originally Posted by Beny

Although from a crowd control and crime prevention point of veiw it's exactly the right way to go about things.

We should do what we used to do a few years ago about crime control. Send them to a huge god forsaken rock in the middle of nowhere on the other side of the world; but this time DONT let them play cricket

[Beny]

Really they just sent everybody with a personality over, all the law-abiding wusses stayed at home...