The ICC's 'Orwellian drink rules' under fire

A week before the introduction of a new Licensing Act that will allow 24 hour drinking in pubs, clubs, restaurants and bars, cricket stands on the verge of banning spectators from bringing alcohol into all international venues around the world.

The new ICC regulations come into force next April and have already been labelled as `Orwellian' by readers of The Wisden Cricketer. The magazine's December issue devotes its new Off the long run column to the issue and ICC chief executive officer Malcolm Speed is firmly in its sights as the man behind the new measures:

"Malcolm Speed, chief executive of the ICC, has poured my pint of London Pride down the drain and kicked over your glass of Chardonnay. As of next year he has banned spectators from bringing alcohol to Tests.

"The regulation is imposed on April 1, 2006. There are few signs it is just a joke. It's about safety, you see, but safety from what? Over-rowdy spectators? In England the only recent problem with overexcited fans was in 2001 and mainly involved Pakistan supporters - who don't get smashed on booze. No, the safety in question appears to be the ICC's - from lawsuits brought by anyone hurt in a Test ground.

"So next summer it'll be £3-plus rubbish all round except perhaps at Lord's, where they've applied for an exemption. Already proper cricket fans are being priced out of grounds. And, as if exorbitant prices were not enough, the appalling product is worse. A nice nutty bitter from the picnic bag with your lunch or how about a nice insipid, angrily fizzy, lukewarm pint of disco fizz?

"Less than a pint usually, as some slops out on the trek from the crowded and distant bar. And that's before the flimsy plastic pot cracks, leaving a stream of wasp-attracting lager down the wrist. And all for only £4.

"This is another example of the ICC's attempt to `own' every aspect of world cricket. Remember the Champions Trophy in England last year when you could only drink ICC-endorsed brands? Now these Orwellian rules are being applied across the board. These diktats crush diversity, which they should instead be fostering. Ask anyone who has winced at the death of the English outground.

"Martin Luther King had a dream. I have a nightmare. It involves watching the end of the next Ashes sitting in London Cricket Unit No. 2, surrounded by City boys on the jolly, sipping a lukewarm £6 pot of ICC beer-style beverage."