My four days at the SCG were magnificent. The weather, the crowds, and the cricket all conspired to make the Test match a spectacle and a feast for the lover of the game. But some, it seemed, were out there to ruin everyone else’s enjoyment.
It had nothing to do with the match. As we fans bathed in the Sydney sun, so too did Test cricket, as its capacity for allowing greatness to flourish was borne out in the performances of Michael Clarke, Ricky Ponting, Mike Hussey, Ben Hilfenhaus and Sachin Tendulkar.
But I noticed something else, as I sat in the Bronze seating of O’Reilly, Bradman and Messenger concourse. Never at any sporting event have I seen such pedantic and industrious security personnel, doing everything possible to keep the crowd as confined in their activities as possible.
Nobody would question the need for crowd control at large sporting events, and those who would ought be directed to see a European football crowd when things go awry. However there must be some common sense, and some recognition of what is genuinely harmful and dangerous, and what is merely nitpicking.
Of course the primary gripe of most cricket watchers, especially those in the outer, have with security guards and beach balls. The crowd knock around the beach balls, then inevitably someone swipes a bit too hard and it ends up on the field. The security guard, simply doing his job, picks up the ball and pops it. The crowd boos and there is great mirth, especially when another beach ball suddenly appears out of the ether moments later.
There’s even greater hilarity if a boundary-riding fieldsman gets there first and hurls it back over the fence, just as James Pattinson did on day one of this test to deafening acclaim.
However it seems this pantomime, which has been a regular feature of many a cricketing summer, is being quashed by the hyper-vigilance of those in fluro shirts. They’re not just popping them on the field anymore, they’re walking through the aisles to grab them. They’re snatching them out of the air. They’re even searching the bags of perpetrators, scouring their belongings to see if there might be another dreaded inflatable stowed away for later on.
It’s as if they’re all Liverpool fans, and remember bitterly Darren Bent’s goal for Sunderland in the Premier League a couple of years ago.
I’ll admit that a time usually comes in the day when the beach balls can become a little annoying, especially if some zealot decides to embrace rough play and opt for the spike. But the amount of attention paid to them is extraordinary. Beach balls are not, and do not result in, crowd violence. They’re simply a bit of fun, more popular I suspect because of the security guard’s involvement in the ritual.
Then there’s the beer snake, where a group of fans collect plastic beer cups and put them together into a long, bending stack. The attention paid to the beer snake by the SCG staff was baffling. At one stage on day three, a generously proportioned security guard caused patrons in the row in front of me great discomfort when he trudged past them in order to retrieve an embryonic beer snake. It could not have had more than a dozen cups in its figure and yet it was confiscated at such great effort.
Wherever a couple of cups were put together, they were snuffed out. The point came when the crowd ceased their rowdy condemnation, instead laughing in amazement at the silliness of the scene. It prompted one fellow behind me to scoff “You’re just not allowed to have fun anymore.”
While the events and quality of this match confounded those who predict Test cricket’s demise, Cricket Australia and the ground authorities do not help their cause with such draconian practices.
Fans at any sporting event need to feel secure. They need to be free from ill-mannered, ill-tempered louts. However, these genuine problem patrons are not addressed by sniffing out beach balls and confiscating beer cups. Security guards should confine their activities to resolving genuine problems. If there are none, they should leave well enough alone.
U.N Owen
Guest
Nicely written article man ... It compliments ... http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/newshome/12667515/police-conduct-in-question-after-big-bash-video-emerges/
Purple Shag
Roar Guru
could not agree more. The fact Lord's is still BYO and they never have any problems there speaks volumes (people don't even stand up in the middle of an over to go and take a slash). Treat people with basic respect and they will behave. Look at them like they're crims and they'll want to buck authority. As for the bike helmets, they are not law in Sweden, but many people here still wear them. Those that don't on occasions end up in the emergency room (where I work). They are a good idea but common sense should tell you to wear one, not the law. The nanny state of Oz is an alarming thing and has risen with the fact that you can go and study OH&S at Uni. There are many graduates each year just looking to justify their position in the name of 'safety'. Just a few years back they deemed it a Grade 2 dangerous activity in a Qld school for students to do a cartwheel on the grass, hence banned them. What has Australia become? An embarrassment.
Matthew Skellett
Guest
You know I absolutely agree with this article, what "terrorist threat" is there to pelt "un-official" beach balls around the ground ? or construct the world's longest beer-snake ? or for nubile full-breasted women to streak across the ground from pillar to post ? ABSOLUTELY NONE I say , these rules are made by middle-aged depressive control freaks and should be consigned to the 'dustbin of history " and be blessed :-)
Wonder Dog
Guest
As I recall, the Police Officer who carried the pig off the Gabba took his hat off and momentarily placed it on the pig's head - no doubt in response to a good deal of urging from the crowd. Funny, friendly, harmless and creating a pleasant good-natured relationship between police and punters. A far cry from what I saw at Adelaide Oval last summer, when about 40 uniformed policed suddenly appeared from the northern gate and purposefully marched across the front of the crowd and then up the walkway on the hill until they formed an unbroken line from the top to the bottom. They then combed their way through every single spectator on the scoreboard hill. While this is the place that those who want to drink themselves stupid traditionally congregate, I had seen nothing harmful or dangerous happening there that day. I don't know what the police were looking for or what they found, but their actions were ridiculously heavy-handed and antagonistic and probably created more trouble than they quelled.
Jack Russell
Roar Guru
The problem with security people is that most of them are as thick as 2 short planks, so authorities are reluctant to give them any leeway in using their own judgement. So the instructions they give are always black and white. 'No full size cricket bats', 'No full containers of liquid', 'No beach balls'. Start adding subjectivity to it - 'No beach balls if they're potentially going to interrupt play' and you're letting these neanderthals use their own judgement. Which is not a good idea.
Crazy Craves
Guest
I used to be a regular five-day attendee in the SCG outer for the test match every year. This is the very reason [apart from the outrageous ticket prices, and the bald-faced rip-off that is the execrable watered down beer and rubbish food] why I now refuse point blank to go anywhere near the ground during international cricket. As I grow older, I get less and less tolerant of this kind of utter nonsense, and I will simply not put up with having my day ruined by some ingnorant goon. It is a crying shame that I can no longer just mind my own business and go and watch the game I love. Shame on you Cricket Australia, Shame.
Another Martin!
Guest
My experiences have always been in Sydney. However, I did attend the Test v NZ in Hobart last month. The security bloke on the main gate at Bellerive was on a real power trip. He was pulling up elderly people with their thermoses, telling them that they had to be empty. Thankfully, another elderly person was able to explain the absurdity of his comment. He was also telling kids that they were not allowed to bring in full size bats, only mini bats and cricket balls were banned, even if the idea was to have them signed by the players. When he was told that the Cricket Australia merchandise van was actually selling cricket balls ten metres away, he didn't know what to say, except 'you still can't bring them in. It's on my list'. The effect of these overbearing security people is to make the paying customers feel guilty until they can prove innocence. It's not particularly welcoming, that is clear.
Football United
Guest
security at any games now are crap. Beer snakes are only harmfull when someone actually tries to forcibly take them down. ACG tends to hire the stupidest boofheads they can find from the outer suburbs and as a result you have useless overbearing seccos. Me and my friends got ejected at a victory game for trying to reenter an active area (which is free standing and movemet) from a different entrance. Guards had no clue what the nature of the seats where outside and their first reaction was to just kick us out
Football United
Guest
this guy. society is why helmets aren't required in europe when riding bikes but they don't seem to have a plague of head injuries because of it.
Rhys
Guest
Anyone recall the ODI between England and Australia from 82/83, when someone let a pig loose near the boundary with the words 'Eddie' and 'Botham' emblazoned down each side. I think it was the GABBA from memory. A member of the local constabulary calmly walked around the boundary and wrestled said pig to the ground, to the chorus of many cheers and jeers from the crowd. No harm was done, and a large section of the crowd enjoyed a thoroughly tasty lunch. The game is so sanitized these days.
jameswm
Guest
It's not just the SCG. It's aq societal thing. Go and live in mainland Europe for an extended period and you'll see what a nanay-state Australia seems. Europe seems lawless in comparison, yet they seem to get by fine.
Purple Shag
Roar Guru
It just gets worse every year. It seems as though every hike in ticket & watered down beer prices just goes towards funding more fluro-clad, walkie talkie holding muppets out to do nothing more than ruin everyone's day and justify their pathetic existence. It was not so long back working security at the SCG meant getting a free days cricket then escorting out a few drunks in the afternoon session. Now along with the police (and a more cameras than star city) they stare everybody down even if their not doing anything wrong, attempting to find the most petty reason to turf someone to increase their chance of taking home the break room collection for most ejections. It's almost like you've got to be an 82 year old former PM to be able to let your hair down. The nanny state of the SCG is a disgrace and has killed the game of cricket for me. No surprise really that the Doug Walters stand no longer exists, I doubt the legend would even want to be associated with the current state of viewing test match cricket.
Grimmace
Roar Pro
Top article. Like the Channel 9 commentators, I don't know anyone who agrees with the over the top fun police. I heard Jim Maxwell make similar comments and get quite annoyed when the score board at Hobart kept stating what people can't do. From memory he also used the term fun police. Rightly so
Another Martin!
Guest
I suggest you send your article to Cricket Australia. While you're at it, why don't you mention the ridiculous sight of the green fluoro army circling the SCG after an over and when a landmark is attained. When centuries, and higher, were reached, the great sight of public acclamation combined with the batsman's joy, in my opinion, was overshadowed by 20-30 'Crowd Control' employees who made the circumference of the SCG look like a war zone. It was embarrassingly farcical. I still remember Jonathan Agnew, while commentating on ABC Radio during a recent SCG Ashes battle, quite strongly note that 'there are a lot of rules in this place'.
JVGO
Guest
This article had to be written. The attitude and behaviour of the security was a disgrace. I saw one young guy escorted out of the ground for blowing up a beach ball. It was extra large. So what. He was dressed in a mini mouse dress. So what. He had a few beers whose exorbitant prices no doubt financed the overbearing and over the top level of security. What has happened to the SCG and the spirit of the hill? Perhaps instead of giving the Silver Bodgy a beer to scull someone should have given him a beach ball to blow up and seen how the security reacted then.