Beer chaos at The Oval

From Richard Seeckts

"It wasn't until I got there that I realised one of the 20s was the duration in minutes of the queue for beer." PP of Kent, 2008.

On the evidence of last week’s Surrey v Sussex match, things have got worse, not better, in 2009. Twenty20 games at Surrey’s south London ground are advertised as turbo-charged cricket. The experience in the stands has not been so thrilling.

Spectators visiting The Oval for ICC World Twenty20 matches should be reassured that "the problem with the (bar) tills has been rectified and we have had no further problems". This is wonderful news, though it comes too late for those who endured woefully inadequate bar provision at last week's Surrey v Sussex Twenty20 match, when the recent dry spell took on another meaning.

That Tuesday evening saw people wanting an after work pint at the cricket queuing for up to half an hour to be served. 'Man waits 25 minutes for beer' is not, in isolation, a matter of great concern to anybody. However, 'World's oldest Test venue fails to cater for crowd of 7,500' doesn't sound so clever. The problem with standing in a queue for 25 minutes during a Twenty20 game is that you miss about seven overs of action, or one third of an innings. And if you fancy a second, or third pint during the evening, you'll see less cricket than on a good day at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.

I don’t know the exact nature of the alleged (and now resolved) bar till problem, but I do know that Surrey CCC infuriated many spectators last week, compounding their blanket ban on taking alcohol into the ground by making it virtually impossible to obtain inside. Surrey claim that the ground was one third full, and that five of seven public bars were open. It’s an interesting claim when the shutters were down on every drinks outlet bar one (pardon the pun) at the Vauxhall end of the ground. If true, it doesn’t bode well for an Ashes Test in August.

Whatever the cause of the chaos, all major sports venues have an obligation to cater for their paying customers swiftly and efficiently, enabling them to optimise their time watching the main event. When getting a drink becomes the main event, something has gone horribly wrong. Tickets are not cheap at The Oval, a cheeseburger and chips costs £8, a pint of beer £3.50, and a replica shirt is £39.99, if your favourite colour happens to be brown. The public deserves better.

The Oval was, however, amply prepared for the queues at the bars to develop into full-blown riots. 190 security / stewards were in attendance, gloriously intimidating in their fluorescent jackets, many radio-linked to Big Brother and ready to pounce on any sign of drunken (fat chance) or inappropriate behaviour. Most of the spectators were family groups on a half term treat or professional types in suits who had just rolled out of their offices. An east London football derby it was not, and yet there was a steward for every forty spectators.

Needless to say they had no riots to crush, perhaps we should have asked the 'Green Team' to fetch the beers for us.