"Members of the general public who steal the stumps/bails and/or who cause
wilful damage to the pitch will risk being prosecuted." These were the words
of the England & Wales Cricket Board on Friday as they tried their hardest to
convince the public that they were serious about preventing mass pitch
invasions such as the one which marred Thursday night's one-day international
between England and Pakistan at Edgbaston.
"The crowd incursions on to the playing area last night were totally
unacceptable and we are doing everything we can to ensure that there is no
repetition during any of the other matches in the NatWest Series," ECB chief
executive Tim Lamb said in a press release yesterday.
"We have therefore decided to act swiftly and implement a number of immediate
remedial measures," Lamb went on to say. However the measures, the threat of
the "risk of prosecution" being one, appear rather less than convincing:
- "Additional security and crowd control measures" to be provided in the
area around dressing rooms and the pavilion area where players enter and
leave the field - the measures not being specified;
Increased levels of stewarding at strategic points around the ground; Authority for umpires to suspend play if spectators start to encroach on
the playing area - an authority which umpires in most parts of the world
would be expected to have already; The use of an Urdu public address announcer at matches involving Pakistan
- apparently under the premise that Pakistani supporters in England don't
(a) speak English, or (b) understand the words "keep off the field" in
English.
Lamb also said in the press release that the police presence at Edgbaston had
been doubled for Thursday night's game. Despite this, large numbers of
supporters were allowed to swarm around the perimeter of the ground late in
the match in anticipation of the fall of the tenth wicket. The police and
other crowd control officials were unable to prevent not one but two
invasions of the pitch by the crowd on Thursday night, England batsman Nick
Knight reportedly being struck during the first incident.
Earlier on Friday, Australian captain Steve Waugh told reporters that the
Australian camp had expressed concerns before the start of the England tour
over crowd control at grounds, recalling a number of such incidents during
the early phases of the 1999 World Cup.
Waugh told reporters that the response that the ECB had given to their
concerns was that "it was in the culture of English cricket to have people
run on the grounds and it was our responsibility to get off the ground
quickly before anything happens."
This was consistent with statements issued by the ECB's World Cup organising
committee during the 1999 event, in which the "English tradition", of
allowing spectators to mingle on the field after the conclusion of play, was
strongly defended.
Yesterday's statement from the ECB failed to directly address Waugh's
perception of the English authorities' attitude beyond saying that "we reject
the suggestion made by the Australian captain that the ECB does not regard
the matter of crowd invasions as a safety issue."
Waugh himself was fortunate to escape serious injury in 1999 when a beer
bottle narrowly missed striking him on the head during an unruly crowd disturbance at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados.
Australia enter the NatWest Series this weekend with a double-header of
matches, playing Pakistan at Cardiff today, and England at Bristol tomorrow.
The next day-night game in the tournament will be between England and
Australia at Old Trafford next Thursday, while Pakistan's next floodlit
engagement will be against the Australians at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on
Tuesday week.