Not much fun at the cricket
The crowd problems seen in Australia this summer have rightly caused concern
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
The crowd problems seen in Australia this summer have rightly caused concern. although some feedback to Cricinfo has insisted that no more than a handful of people are to blame. But the Sydney Morning Herald carries an account of a day at the SCG from an average punter which suggests that the problem is more widespread:
"Blokes were bringing grog in. Because of the new regulations, a lot must have filled up before the match. It's the only explanation for their state. We were about 10 rows back. A few rows in front there was a bunch of about 10 20-year-olds mouthing off. Most of them were drunk as skunks."
And general abuse then became racist as the drunks turned their attention to the Sri Lankan fielders:
"These youths kept calling them names, taunting them, trying to get a rise out of them but they didn't take any notice. It was a constant bombardment. The language was dreadful."
But there seems to have been little done to try to stop them, until a couple of spectators decided they had had enough:
"[They] tried to settle them down. One 60-year-old bloke told them to pipe down so they turned on him and abused him. That stopped others in their tracks."
Martin Williamson is executive editor of ESPNcricinfo and managing editor of ESPN Digital Media in Europe, the Middle East and Africa