Cricket authorities are hopeful stiffer penalties and the shorter Twenty20 format will prevent crowd trouble in Friday’s clash between Australia and Pakistan at the MCG, which could be the biggest-attended match of the season.
The Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) and Cricket Victoria are anticipating at least 60,000 fans at Friday night’s game, a crowd that size would surpass the Boxing Day attendance of 59,206.
Both organisations are confident there will be no repeat of the trouble at the WACA Ground on Sunday night, when a spectator tackled Pakistan fielder Khalid Latif during the fifth one-day match.
A 37-year-old man has been charged with assault and trespass leading to assault over the incident, and will appear in court on February 16.
Spectators face fines of up to $7,000 for running on to the ground at the MCG, whereas the fines are $500 at the WACA Ground.
MCC chief executive Stephen Gough and his Cricket Victoria counterpart Tony Dodemaide agreed the heavier penalties deterred potential trouble-makers.
They were also hopeful the Twenty20 format would assist security staff, as a game played over three hours rather than eight meant the cricket could keep fans’ attention.
“When you have nailbiting games you don’t want to miss a ball and it keeps the interest, so the shorter format does work in our favour,” Gough said.
Dodemaide said: “It is a condensed game and you don’t want to turn your back on the play too long, so the three hours would tend to hold the fans attention longer, and we’ve found the format appeals to families to attend.”
A decade ago the MCG was rated among the world’s worst cricket venues for interruptions in play, trespassing and poor crowd behaviour, which at one stage jeopardised the future of international matches being played there.
But authorities believe the introduction of steeper fines for trouble-makers, and measures such as reserved seating and the need for wrist bands to purchase alcohol have contributed to a decline in indiscretions.
The surge in popularity Twenty20 has experienced this summer was underlined when 43,125 fans attended a domestic game between Victoria and Tasmania at the MCG on January 15.
The MCG has attracted big crowds for Twenty20 internationals the past two years, as 62,148 watched Australia and South Africa play last year, while 84,041 attended the game between the home side and India in 2008.
Malibu77
Guest
I can't believe that more has not been made of the spectator tackling Khalid Latif incident. This is a disgrace - where were the security people? We won't tour Pakistan because of security concerns, but then we allow one of their players to be assaulted on the field of play! What if he had had a knife? Or worse? Do we need another Monica Seles incident? Which brings me to the Croatian "fan" who invaded Rod Laver arena at the end of the Andy Murray/Maran Cilic match. Nice job organisers have done to hush that one up. Again, what were the security people doing?