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During the first test of the Ashes, I was able to witness the fervour of the Barmy Army, but to my dismay, also the poor form of Australian supporters. And it made me realise that when it comes to supporters at the Ashes, the Barmy Army has no rival. Over the five days, I got to see it all.
Apart from Cook’s double century, Hussey and Haddin’s 300-run stand and Siddle’s thrilling hat-trick, the crowds were also a source of entertainment.
All day long, the Barmy Army would go through their impressive repertoire of cheers, with their previously banned trumpeter now in tow, they got louder, and rowdier as the day went on. Whether or not this was due to the alcohol they consumed is irrelevant, because the fact remains – the Barmy Army made the Gabba feel like it was Day 2 at Edgbaston.
They’ve had to drop the taunting, “We’re fat, we’re round, three dollars to the pound”, but all the favourites were still there: ‘Rule Britannia’, ‘God save your gracious Queen’, ‘Everywhere we go’, the frightfully catchy ‘Convict colony’ (sung to the tune of Yellow Submarine by The Beatles) and the never-ending rhapsody ‘We are the army’.
But what could our Aussies supporters offer in return?
Well, not much.
When Kevin Pietersen sat on the rope he was met with a chorus of Australian supporters chanting “Kevin’s a w*****” followed by claps. To his credit, Pietersen gladly clapped along and waved his hands to follow the melody, but surely there was something better on the horizon from Aussie fans?
Nope.
The Australian crowd barely made a noise.
There were bursts of “C’mon Aussie C’mon, C’mon” but they were short-lived. The only highlight for me was the rapturous “Siiii-ddle” chant which followed his hat-trick, and upon Paul Collingwood being picked to bowl, “Bo-riiing”, but that was about it.
Cursing at players and two syllable chants. We should be so proud.
And it’s not just the cheering where the English fans dominate. Whether you were at the ground or watching on television, the Gabba was quite clearly a sea of red and white with St. George’s Crosses everywhere, but barely an Aussie flag in sight. Australian fans are normally a flag-happy crowd, but there was a lot left to be desired during the first test.
Even though I saw more Australiana than in a tourist souvenir shop, it still looked as though we were vastly outnumbered!
On day five, the lacklustre attendance brought ol’ Sir Ian Botham into the mix, where he slammed the Australian crowd, calling on a game of “spot the Aussie”.
So what happened to us? It was the Australian media that christened the Barmy Army and encouraged this rivalry between the poms and Australians, but it’s clear, their supporters have outdone us and it’s doing no favours to our cricketers, with Ricky Ponting booed onto the pitch on home soil!
Our equivalent to the Barmy Army, the Fanatics, are just no match. The English are far more devoted to their team than we are. Just look at the last time the Ashes were played in Australia.
A whopping 40,000 poms flew down under only to see their team get thrashed 5-0. But despite this, they’re still a cheerful group, and I saw much of the same at the Gabba last week.
On day one and two when England looked all but done for, the Barmy Army didn’t quit. You think they are loud when they are losing? You should have heard them by day five! But Australian fans are very different. There seems to be an attitude of ‘when we’re winning, we’re there, when we’re not, why turn up?’
The Adelaide test has just begun, and so far, especially after the Katich dismissal, it looks like we’re outnumbered again. I did hear ‘Waltzing Matilda’, but again, it seems to me that the Barmy Army is louder and prouder than our own.
C’mon Aussie fans, c’mon!
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