Members of the Barmy Army, who were expected to number at least 7,000 on the opening day of the first Test, received the ultimate accolade from Ricky Ponting on the eve of the match.
The Australia captain labelled them “the best sporting fans in the world” during the pre-match press conference, which was thought to have been the most heavily attended in Australia Test history. More than 100 journalists were present.
“The Barmy Army are terrific supporters of the England cricket team,” Ponting said. “They just stand there having fun pretty much regardless of what’s going on out on the field.”
When asked if there was a danger that the “Barmies” might get under his skin, Ponting replied with a broad smile: “Probably.” Cue considerable laughter.
The jocular mood continued when Ponting was quizzed about the various anti-England slogans in evidence around Brisbane, such as “The Poms are going to cop it” on the side of some city buses. “Was it over the top — OTT?” he was asked. “OTT, eh?” he said with a grin, apparently unfamiliar with the abbreviation. “Maybe. Who cares?”
Attempted psychological warfare has long been a national pastime in Australia when it comes to upsetting visiting sports teams. “He’s a mate, but I’m out to flatten Freddie [Andrew Flintoff],” Brett Lee wrote in his newspaper column yesterday. When Lee was invited to Flintoff’s benefit dinner in Sydney during touring team’s recent match against New South Wales, he was the only Australian on the England captain’s table.
A relaxed-looking Flintoff said that, despite having captained England three times in India and three times at home to Sri Lanka, the prospect of leading out the team in Australia gave him “a sense of something extra”. Walking round Brisbane on Tuesday with his family, he professed to be “amazed by the amount of people from Preston or wherever” that he bumped into. “I got a sense of how excited people are about this series,” he said.
Emirates announced yesterday that it is to become the official airline of the Australia cricket team for the next three years.
- GEOFFREY DEAN