Long walk for spectators in Antigua

During the Channel 9 coverage of the Australia - South Africa match, Mark Nicholas bemoaned the low spectator turnout, which he attributed partly to lack of parking near the ground and to delays with security searches. As he spoke the cameras illustrated his point about the parking by showing a group of people (passers-by? potential spectators?) walking across a distant stretch of wasteland towards the ground.

Cricinfo 's report echoes his on-air comments and provides some other perspectives :

The commentator Mark Nicholas was disappointed the match was not a sell-out and said the locals were frustrated by the long queues. "A lot of them gave up and said 'no, I'm not prepared to wait two hours'," he said. "It's been one of the problems confronting spectators. The huge amount of security, that's one thing, the other is the long lines for tickets and long lines for food."

Nicholas said the remoteness of the site - "you can only park a mile away despite huge areas all around" - was a problem when comparing it to the previous venue. "The old ground was in the middle of St John's and it was very popular," he said. "There was a great party feel to the place, but it's going to be very difficult to rekindle that here."

The controversy dampened an occasion that ought to have been a proud moment for West Indies and for Antigua. "It's a very good stadium, it's beautiful and it's a tribute to the man, Sir Vivian Richards," Lara said. "It's been an awesome effort by the Antiguan people getting this ready, and it's going to be wonderful for West Indian cricket moving on. The infrastructure is good, so now it's time for the manpower."

Not everyone was impressed with the positioning of the new ground. Built on a greenfields site 20 minutes outside of St John's, many fans had to walk for several kilometres to reach the entrance, or pay for a shuttle service. An impassioned West Indian supporter told a local TV station that it was the spectator's right to expect to be able to park outside a new and purpose-built ground, while others complained that the spontaneity that had existed at the old Antigua Recreation Ground was missing from the new venue.

But Lara said there would have to be a change of attitudes all around as West Indian cricket gets used to its new era. "When you're talking about the improvement of facilities the spectators also have to adapt," he said. "It's not enough to be able to stay in the same areas or stadiums just because the atmosphere was great. We've had some wonderful times at the ARG, but now we move on to the Sir Viv stadium and it is something to be proud of over the years.

"Some of these stadiums were dilapidated. Georgetown and other grounds have been around for donkey's years. I'm sure people will adjust. I may have been disappointed with the crowd today but I thought the party stand wasn't bad here or in Jamaica. People are going to enjoy it, and I think the cricketers are very happy that we have facilities that are second-to-none. If you go to the MCG or Lord's the facilities are great. It's nice to know we are getting there."

Getting where, may I ask? Is cricket, by making it harder for local people (not just in Antigua, which has a population of about 70,000) to attend, cutting off its populist nose to spite its elitist face of corporate boxes, limited pay TV coverage etc? Mark Nicholas is astute enough to grasp that all the money that's been poured into infrastructure development for the World Cup will come to nothing if the once strong West Indian cricketing cultures which have produced players of the calibre of Brian Lara and Vivian Richards continue to languish in the face of official indifference and competition from other sports.

The Australian and The Age have more about the topic.

Cricket 192, soccer 3

Not the scores but, according to ABC Online, the numbers of people ejected from the cricket and soccer matches played yesterday in Melbourne . About the same number (47-48,000) attended the Australia - NZ ODI at the MCG and the Melbourne Victory - Adelaide United A league semi-final down the road at Docklands Stadium.

Of the cricket ejectees, 21 were turfed out for infringing the recently imposed ban on the Mexican wave. Today's Australian (online at News.com.au ) has a report by Andrew Ramsay illustrated with a graphic photo of an alleged offender/ protester being removed.

Ejections aside, the attendance figures reveal how popular club soccer in Australia is becoming. Sure, the game was the second leg of a semi-final which the local team had to win to proceed to the grand final, but the lure of the sport seems to be increasing despite the conscious (and apparently successful) efforts to develop a national competition with geographical rather than ethnic based teams. The soccer stadium in Adelaide, which not so long ago was refurbished with a lot of government money, holds, I believe, only about 15,000 people. Perhaps big matches could be played at the Adelaide Oval? This would help SACA towards its goal of attracting major sporting events as well as cricket.

" Behave, but have fun": 250 strong security force mobilised to protect esky and beach ball exclusion zone

Today The Advertiser's print edition ran an article on p7 with the headline "Behave, but have fun", which was reproduced on the companion Adelaide Now website as "Have fun - but behave".

A 250 strong security force comprising more than 90 police and 140 security guards will be deployed not, as you might be forgiven for thinking, to assist in the restoration of order somewhere in the South Pacific "arc of instability", but to exercise zero tolerance of the expected 30,000+ crowd at the Test.

SACA chief executive Mike Deare said the measures, which had been eight months in planning, were designed to increase patrons' enjoyment of the cricket...."Because of the huge attendance and the strong desire of the International Cricket Council and Cricket Australia, as well as my own board of management, to ensure that everybody has an enjoyable day, we have significantly increased security activities this season. Hopefully there will be no suppression of the crowd's enthusiasm. We are certainly not intending to do that . . . we're intending to do exactly the opposite by making sure those unpleasant incidents . . . don't occur."

Chief Inspector John Gerlach, the officer in charge of the operation, said police would have zero tolerance. "We would be urging people to have fun at the cricket but what is important is that people don't do things that interfere with the comfort and safety of other people at the event," he said.

...............

Mr Deare confirmed the Barmy Army would not be permitted to bring a trumpet into the ground. Beach balls would also be banned. The Mexican wave would be permitted but patrons seen throwing items into the air would face eviction.

Other media are picking up on the killjoy tactics employed in Brisbane: for example Gideon Haigh's Eye on the Ashes and The Surfer blogs on Cricinfo , Greg Baum in The Age , and this from the Gold Coast Bulletin, reporting on the first four days of the Brisbane Test:

People were thrown out for a whole range of sins, including blowing their own trumpet, waving the Aussie flag, trying to start a Mexican wave and even, dare we say it, inciting an 'Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi' chant. A Gold Coast cricket fan was told by police to leave his seat because he was sneezing too much. True story. The last straw came when police ordered that an inflatable kangaroo, this country's national icon, be deflated or the owner would be turfed out. Ironically, the fella who somehow smuggled a blow-up doll into the stadium evaded the clutches of about six wallopers.

The fun police have simply gone too far. They are getting the Barmy Army mixed up with the British soccer hooligans.The stiff suits in Brisbane have turned the Gabba into a prison for spectators while at Surfers Paradise, an hour's drive away, 18-year-old school leavers are partying in style, with few arrests.It's not often that the Poms have a legitimate beef but by separating the English spectators at the Gabba, Cricket Australia erred badly.The Barmy Army is one of the best-behaved groups of spectators in the world. They are an extremely well-organised group made up of mostly middle-class Poms who simply want to have a beer and a laugh, combining their love of cricket with an Aussie holiday. By splitting them, denying them the chance to sing en masse, the fun police took away a lot of the atmosphere which has become part and parcel of an Ashes series between the two countries.

Update 30 November: Today's Australian has an editorial "Leave fun in cricket" which now compares SA unfavourably with more tolerant cricket administrations elsewhere:

Heavy handed fun police at Brisbane's Gabba who threw Barmy Army trumpeter Billy Cooper out of the ground on the first day of Australia's Test against England didn't do spectators any favours...Now the South Australian Cricket Association has also shown it shares the Gabba's killjoy colours by banning Mr Cooper's trumpet from the second Test...He will be allowed to rejoin the fun when the cricket circus moves on to Perth and Sydney.

South Australia struggles to compete for a larger share of the international tourism market, and it can't help to have us branded as a killjoy state. Queensland has many other attractions so will be able to deflect the criticism more readily ("killjoy one day, beautiful the next"), leaving South Australia with a tougher job to counter the negative reputation.


The Australian has just posted a story"Banned bugler ' culturally relevant'"where an Adelaide University professor of musicology has added his voice to the swelling chorus of criticism.

Have a good day at the cricket but toe Cricket Australia's line

Here are Cricket Australia's Conditions of Entry to venues for this season.

I've highlighted a few which caught my eye (and made me wonder whether anyone would be able to comply with all the restrictions).




NOTICE TO ALL PATRONS
It is a condition of entry to the Venue (including all areas under the control of the Venue
owner or hirer, the “Venue”) for matches forming part of Cricket Australia’s 2006-07
international cricket season that patrons agree:
1. not to bring into the Venue any photographic, video or audio recording equipment for
any purpose other than private non-commercial purposes, which may include, without
limitation, video and/or audio recorders, camera tripods, monopods or lenses with a
total-focal strength of greater than 200mm and commercial digital video equipment;


2. not to (i) make any recording or take any photograph for anything other than private
non-commercial purposes or (ii) sell, license or otherwise publish, disseminate or
reproduce (or permit such), whether in whole or in part, any recordings taken or made
inside the Venue (including, without limitation, photographs, video recordings or sound
recordings) without the prior written consent of Cricket Australia;


3. not to broadcast or narrowcast by any means whatsoever (including, without limitation,
by way of mobile telephone, modem or other wireless device) any images, sounds,
data, results or commentary of or concerning any of the matches or other activities at
the Venue without the prior written consent of Cricket Australia;


4. not to re-sell any tickets to the matches played at the Venue at a premium or to use any
of them for advertising, promotional or other commercial purposes without the prior
written consent of Cricket Australia or the relevant State Cricket Association. Note: if
the ticket is sold or used in contravention of this condition, the bearer of the ticket will be
denied admission to the Venue;


5. to be bound by all terms of the 2006/07 Cricket Australia National Refund Policy, the
provisions of which can be viewed on the Cricket Australia website www.cricket.com.au;


6. not to (i) wear or otherwise display commercial, political, religious or offensive signage
or logos or engage in ambush marketing generally, or (ii) sell or distribute any goods or
services or any other matter or thing, or (iii) collect money or orders from other patrons
for goods or services without the prior written consent of Cricket Australia or (iv)
distribute political, religious, advertising or promotional material, in each case without
the prior written consent of Cricket Australia;


7. not to engage in any conduct, act towards or speak to any player, umpire, referee or
other official or other patron in a manner which offends, insults, humiliates, intimidates,
threatens, disparages or vilifies that other person on the basis of that other person’s
race, religion, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin;


8. that no alcohol, glass, cans, firearms, weapons, fireworks or other items deemed or
considered dangerous may be brought into the Venue;



9. that entry to the Venue is only permitted to spectators who agree to be searched
(including their bags, clothes or other possessions) on entry and continued presence in
the Venue is only permitted to spectators who agree to be searched (including their
bags, clothes or other possessions) while in the Venue;


10. that the playing field at the Venue shall be out of bounds at all times on the day of any
match at the Venue without prior written consent from Cricket Australia and any persons
entering the playing field without such consent will be prosecuted;


11. that they consent to (i) the recording of their likeness and/or voice by any means
(including but not limited to audio and visual recordings by television cameras and
photographers) (together “Images”) and (ii) the commercial exploitation, throughout the
world, of their Images by any means by Cricket Australia and its commercial partners
without compensation;


12. that they are admitted to the Venue at their own risk;


13. that they are required to take appropriate care for their sun protection and hydration;


14. that a patron who is deemed to be affected by the consumption of alcohol or drugs may,
in Cricket Australia's sole discretion, be refused entry to, or ejected from, the Venue by
an authorised event official;


15. that Cricket Australia shall not be liable for any loss suffered by the patron or caused by
any act or omissions of Cricket Australia;


16. not to do any of the following in the Venue or around:
(a) post, stick or place or attempt to post, stick or place any poster, placard, bill,
banner, print, paper or any advertising material on any building structure, fence,
tree or cordon without the prior written consent of Cricket Australia;
(b) misuse, deface, damage, remove from the Venue or tamper with or attempt to
misuse, deface, damage, remove from the Venue or tamper with any building,
seat, chair, toilet, sink, table structure, vehicle, craft, truck, pipe, tap, tap fitting,
conduit, electrical equipment, wiring or sign or excavate or cause to be
excavated any part of the area used for any of the matches or other activities at
the Venue;
(c) deposit litter, except in a receptacle provided for that purpose;
(d) throw or attempt to throw any stone, bottle, projectile or other object;
(e) disrupt, interrupt or behave in any manner that may disrupt or interrupt any of the
matches or other activities at the Venue, distract, hinder or interfere with a
player, interfere with the comfort of other patrons on their enjoyment of any of the
matches or other activities at the Venue;
(f) use indecent or obscene language or threatening or insulting words, or otherwise
behave in a threatening, abusive, riotous, indecent or insulting manner;
(g) interfere with, obstruct or hinder Cricket Australia or its employees, agents or
contractors in the exercise of their powers, functions or duties;
(h) conduct public surveys or opinion polls, solicit money, donations or subscriptions
from members of the public, without the written consent of Cricket Australia;
(i) smoke in areas within the Venue nominated as non-smoking; or
(j) inflate, or cause to inflate, any balloon, beach ball, receptacle, device or structure
without the prior written consent of Cricket Australia.



17. not to hold themselves out or otherwise promote themselves or any good or service as
being associated with Cricket Australia where they are not authorised by Cricket
Australia to do so in a way that would infringe the rights of those parties commercially
associated with Cricket Australia;



18. without prejudice to any other rights which Cricket Australia or the Venue owner or hirer
may have, that if they contravene any of these terms and conditions they may:
(a) be refused entry to the Venue;
(b) be ejected from the Venue by an authorised event official;
(c) have their ticket confiscated and/or cancelled without refund or recompense;
(d) be prohibited and disqualified from purchasing tickets for or entering into any
match or other function played or conducted under the auspices of Cricket
Australia, including, for the avoidance of doubt, any Test Match, One Day
International Match, Twenty20 Match or domestic 4-day, one-day or 20-over
match, anywhere in Australia; and/or
(e) have legal action taken against them in connection with such matters.


19. that, in the event that entry of the patron to the Venue is refused for any reason in
accordance with these Conditions, no refund will be paid in respect of the relevant ticket;
and


20. to abide by any terms of entry into the Venue prescribed by the Venue Manager to the
extent those terms of entry do not conflict with the conditions set out above.
By order of Cricket Australia