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Feedback from the Ashes and World Cup.Justin Langer's comments following Day 2 of the Melbourne Test were not the most complimentary that we have ever had: LANGER LABELS BARMY ARMY A 'DISGRACE' From Myles Hodgson, PA Sport Cricket Correspondent, Melbourne Justin Langer today
branded the Barmy Army "a disgrace" after they continually barracked
Australian fast bowler Brett Lee during the second day of the fourth Test against
England at the MCG. A large contingent
of England supporters shouted "no ball" every time Lee ran into bowl
during an eight-over spell as the tourists reached 97 for three at the close
in reply to Australia's daunting declared total of 551 for six. Their chants were
in reference to accusations that Lee generates his great pace, which today reached
speeds of up to 97mph, by throwing the ball despite being cleared by the International
Cricket Council two years ago. The antics clearly
upset the Australian team with wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist gesturing to the
Barmy Army when Marcus Trescothick gloved Lee behind, twice raising his arms
in celebration at the wicket. But it was Langer
who expressed the views of the team and claimed: "I thought they were a
disgrace. "There's no
better sight on a cricket field than Brett Lee or any fast bowler running in
like that, it's a magnificent sight and if it did help fire Brett up then all
the better for us. "These people stand behind a fence drinking beer with most of them 50 kilos overweight making ridiculous comments. It's easy for someone to say that from behind a fence, they're within their rights because they've paid their money, but there's still some integrity in life I think." However, over the winter the website has been inundated with feedback from people that we have met in both Australia and South Africa during the last tour. These comments do not only refer to those of us that are involved behind the scenes, but to all of you out there that helped to provide the atmosphere across the Southern Hemisphere during the winter. Here is a selection of the emails, both good and bad: 1. I would just like to say a big thanks for the last tour, it was my first time watching england and what better way to start your career as a international cricket virgin watching the lads in oz with the famous barmy-army backing you. I am not your typical cricket fan (if there is a typical fan) as i have come through the ranks of watching football, I thought nothing could better the hammers winning the fa cup in 1980 but the ashes is something else, the losing does not even take that away from you (and by Christ did we lose) but nothing will ever beat the sensation of beating the mighty Ausies at Steve Waughs home ground and ruining what would have been a 5-0 whitewash and a win on his own ground please send my best to leafy and the boys for standing by their convictions when all the media were knocking sports fans (England in particular) and setting up the best club in the world ( Carlsberg don't set up clubs but if they did it would be the barmy-army!) well don't want to bore you to much but I cannot wait for the tour of the Windies in 2004 & what makes it all the better is that the first test in jamaica will be my birthday (21 again) lots of love Karen ps I would just like to say thanks very much for making my trip 1000 times better pps Roll on 4 years time when we can take the mickey out of those boring Aussie b******s when we are about to whitewash them . 2. You Can Sings Sod
All Stay tuned for
more songs. 3. i am an aussie
who wishes i was a Pom. the way english crowds go on is champion. i only get
to see the enlish team play once a year during the ashes, and i always hear
a chant. although the words are not on this website. there is a leader yelling
something out, then everyone else yells out the same thing...it goes something
like this: we are the army; the barmy barmy army; where do we come from? the
mighty mighty england...this is not how it goes, but i never get a chance to
hear it because the comentators never shut up...please send me these lyrics
if you can, and maybe when the one day final is on in sydney, i can join the
BARMY ARMY!!!!! 4. I have to admit
that as a football-supporting Scot, the fact that I was in South Africa as the
World Cup got underway was pure coincidence. My only previous experience of
cricket had been coming across it (briefly) when I was flicking through the
TV channels. It had never held my attention for long. But since I was now holidaying
in the host nation, I promised myself I would take in a game if I got the chance. So there I was, dossing in a backpackers' hostel in Durban on the same day Canada took on Bangladesh in the city. A group of seven of us decided to take a trip down to the ground and take in the game. Only two of us had ever watched cricket before, both of them staff from the hostel, but this didn't deter us un-initiated from enjoying the day. Tickets were on sale at the ground (apparently this isn't one of the big games!) and we bought ourselves South Stand briefs for 35 Rand - roughly about £2.70 each! No matter how bad my cricket experience turned out to be, I could have no complaints about admission. One aspect of sport here which differs from Europe is the clout carried by sponsors. There had been talk that anyone turning up wearing a t-shirt with Coca Cola on it would not be given entry (Pepsi being a main sponsor). Of course, when I say a t-shirt with Coke on it, I mean the logo. Spillage from your glass is, apparently, acceptable. I found out just how much truth these stories carried when I entered the turnstiles. The day was baking hot and, like many at the game, I was carrying bottled water. The stewards stopped me and told me that I had to remove the label as a rival mineral water company was a sponsor and they didn't want spectators sporting any other brand while in the ground! Those who were unable to peel the labels off had to dump their bottles in plastic dustbins at the gates. Now as a football fan I am well used to seeing bottles being dumped into bins at the turnstiles but this is to prevent them being used as missiles rather than as a result of corporate fascism. Having removed the offending labels we entered the ground and made our way to our section, stopping off at the beer stall (the non-approved water having been dumped for an official World Cup beer). Beer, like most things in SA, is dirt cheap. Even with over-inflated stadium prices, it was still on about 60-odd pence per pint! We neglected our seats in favour of the ground, a grassy slope which would be cricket's equivalent of terracing. I have to admit, lying back on the grass with a beer in-hand on a beautiful day, that cricket fans might be onto something here. What's more, gorgeous female bar-staff wearing white boiler suits tied at the waist and white bikini tops mingled among the spectators offering to fetch refills of beer. There was one guy working as a waiter but that just smacked of tokenism. At the risk of sounding shallow, having scantily clad sexy girls fetch cheap beer for you is something I found very appealing. And so to the game.
Canada batted first and I surprised myself by being able to answer most of the
questions an Irish girl was firing at me, although they were along the lines
of: Canada, for the record, were all out for 180. Not having ever seen a one-day match before (or any other form of cricket for that matter), I wasn't really able to comment on the quality. It had been a lot more exciting than I had expected with wickets, 4s and 6s coming thick and fast. This is apparently a feature of one-day cricket, although I guess you guys already know that! Bangladesh were well capable of exceeding Canada's total - even I knew that this was a sporting miss-match - and they reached the century (that's 100 runs apparently) easily enough but then began to collapse. As the game wore on it looked more and more likely that Canada might win, causing what would surely be one of the tournament's shock results. Eventually the final Bangladeshi wicket fell giving Canada a 60 run win and a great day's entertainment. The next day I checked the remaining fixtures to see if my travels would allow me to take in another game. It seemed that England v Pakistan and I shared a mutual destiny in Cape Town on February 22nd. I arrived in Cape Town a few days before the game but quickly found that the only spare tickets were in the hands of touts and the going rate was around R400 - a bit of a difference from the R35 I'd paid for the Canada match. This worked out at £30 which, considering I am neither English or a (real) cricket fan, was just too steep for me. By the time the day of the game arrived I hadn't had the chance of a cheaper ticket and contented myself with visiting a museum close by. By the time I got back to the hostel one of the guys had just bought a touted ticket for R200 - definitely within my price range. He pointed me in the direction of the tout and I set after him. About £15 lighter, I had myself a ticket. I compared it with the brief that Paul had just bought and we were both in the same section. One worrying aspect was that neither ticket had a price on it which led me to think that perhaps they might be forged but if so, they were damned good forgeries. So we both set off to the game and at the ground it was clear that this was a big game. The Barmy Army, as I believe you guys call yourselves, were out in force. We mingled with a few of the England fans, something I wouldn't have considered had this been football, and then made our way in. As it turns out,
the tickets were hospitality which is why they had no price on them. I also
had to buy a collared polo shirt to gain entry to the stand - now that is posh. 5. G'day Guys, 6. Definitive Guide to being an Aussie 1. The bigger the hat, the smaller the farm. 2. The shorter the nickname, the more they like you. 3. Whether it's
the opening of Parliament, or the launch of a new art 4. If the guy next
to you is swearing like a wharfie he's probably a 5. There is no
food that cannot be improved by the application of tomato 6. On the beach,
all Australians hide their keys and wallets by placing 7. Industrial design
knows of no article more useful than the plastic 8. All our best heroes are losers. 9. The alpha male
in any group is he who takes the barbecue tongs from 10. It's not summer until the steering wheel is too hot to hold. 11. It is proper
to refer to your best friend as "a total bastard". By 12. If it can't
be fixed with pantyhose and fencing wire, it's not worth 13. The most popular
and widely praised family in any street is the one 14. It's considered better to be down on your luck than up yourself. 15. The phrase
"we've got a great lifestyle" means everyone in the 16. If invited
to a party, you should take cheap red wine and then spend 17. The phrase
"a simple picnic" is not known. You should take 18. Unless ethnic
or a Pom, you are not permitted to sit down in your 19. On picnics,
the Esky is always too small, creating a food versus 20. When on a country
holiday, the neon sign advertising the motel's 21. There comes
a time in every Australian's life when he/she realises 22. And, finally,
don't let the tourist books fool you. No-one EVER says Stuart Moulden 7.
Taking my seat, I settled down to what I expected to be a day's sedate cricket watching just in the shade from a warm (late twenties), slightly breezey Sydney summer's day: you know, the gentle brush of leather on willow and so on. About half an hour into the morning, after little more than a few cheers and claps, several hundred people to the left of us suddenly stood up, arms in the air, and sang out, "we're the left side, we're the left side, we're the left side over here," and sat down. Odd, I thought. Seconds later, everyone around us stood up and sang out, "we're the middle, we're the middle, we're the middle over here" and sat down again, closely followed by everyone to our right singing, " we're the right side, we're the right side, we're the right side over here." My confusion turned to hilarious laughter when the entire Barmy Army then stood up, pointed to the right at where unsuspecting Aussie fans sat and sang out, "you're the convicts, you're the convicts, you're the convicts over there!" It wasn't just me who was unaware what to expect. Most of these are of course English football fans adapting songs they sing week in, week out for cricket, all foreign to the Australian crowd who are strangers to a singing culture like this. However, their reputation proceeded them, and the Barmy Army were allocated the section of the SCG as far from the Members enclosure as possible. The Barmy Army are a hotchpotch of young men, wearing a uniform of English team shirts of all kinds, rugby, cricket and from football clubs from all divisions. They are trained to sustain the punishment of a tour that requires you to endure 30 days of cricket watching, under the Australian sun with beer constantly in hand. Each day of cricket or beach-bumming is followed by a drill of all night drinking sessions, every night for two months. Their skin, bottoms, wallets and livers all suffer for a duty to English cricket. As lunch approached and England hero Michael Vauhan made 183, their singing soon began to eclipse the cricket as the main spectacle and incessant beer consumption took effect. What I became quickly familiar with was the sight of thousands of people able to stand and sing entirely as if one entity: an Army. Before long, I was introduced to the Army's signature song, led by a strange gent who bares a remarkable resemblance to Jimmy Saville. This middle-aged chap from Oldham, was sitting about twelve rows ahead of me, wearing a tall three-lions, inflatable top hat, St George vest and waving a huge St George Flag. His moment was heralded by a small group around him singing, "Jimmy, Jimmy give us a song." Standing up, he settled his audience putting his finger to shooshing mouth in Pied Piper style, pointed to the scoreboard and shouted, "How's about that then, guys and galls?" Then he began a well-rehearsed routine, while the Army echo each line in turn: "Everywhere
we goooooo-o, After a few hours and many gallons of beer - the abuse and the banter with the Aussie crowd picked up. The Barmy Army dominated proceedings, and while some Aussies jovially took them on ('I'd rather be a convict than a pom', or 'stick your union jack right up your arse') they were quickly drowned out. Of course, the humiliation England have suffered after a long, painful tour provided much material for Australia who won the Ashes in the first 11 days. However, following the recent decision of the MCC in London that the centenary-plus Ashes Urn is too delicate to travel; (much quieter) songs about Aussie cricketing prowess, were retorted with the truth that (much louder) "you'll never see the Ashes!" Other abusive chants included the old classic 'he's got the whole world in his hands' morphed into "we get three dollars to the pound," which is followed in turn by, "we're so rich its unbelievable." There's also, "there are only 3 Aussies singing," "get your shit stars off our flag" and as the runs piled on, "you're not singing anymore" (although truth be told, they never were!). To the tune of 'Yellow Submarine', they finished the job with, "you all live in a convict colony!" All songs repeated over and over all afternoon as the sun beat down. It wasn't just the Aussie crowd that came in for taunts, there was plenty saved up for the Aussie bowlers as England uncharacteristically piled on the runs. Fast bowler, Brett Lee has been known for a dodgy bowling action in his time, and so the army intimidated him with chants like, "keep your arm straight when you bowl," and, "shall we show you how to bowl." As he ran up to the crease over and over again, the crowd shouted each time, hundreds in unison, "no ball!" Jimmy Saville was not the only celeb to be represented, and four blokes in particular stood out - three dressed as crocodile-wrestling Aussie TV cult star, Steve Irwin, and one as his pet crocodile. Drawing most attention though were girls dressed in a variety of St George's cross-inspired bikini tops, who I understand are paid 45 quid an hour to keep the beer coming. The day's highlight came shortly after lunch, not on the pitch but actually 10 seats to our left. Barmy Army hero, Jonathon Agnew - 'Aggers' - the English commentator working for the ABC and BBC, came down with his crew to do a recording from the very heart of Barmy Army territory. This sparked fervent singing, mainly of, "Aggers, Aggers, give us a song". Perhaps more embarrassing for him, and his female producer, was the rendition of, "is she really going out with him, is she really gonna take him home." Aggers sat down and got someone to teach him the Army anthem, before standing up to lead the Army in its war cry. Photos and autographs a plenty proved a happy highlight for a crowd of supporters that have obviously had a lot of fun, but actually have had very little to cheer about from a cricketing perspective...until, that is, the fourth day of the Sydney test. By late afternoon, England had scored another 200 runs and set a target of 452 for an Australian side that hadn't lost a home test in four years. This reality was not lost on opening batsman Mathew Hayden, who smashed a dressing room window in disgust after his two run dismissal. After Declaring, and much to the amazement of the Barmy Army themselves, what Aussies described as 'Hussain's weapons of misdirection' took the three Australian openers' wickets inside just one hour, making an Australian victory all but impossible. Aussie captain, Steve Waugh - who became only the third Australian to score 10,000 career runs on the second day of Sydney - said before the match that he wanted a 5-0 whitewash, and now the Barmy Army had a simple response. To the tune of 'she'll be coming round the mountain,' thousands sang: "you can stick your 5-0 right up your arse." They won the test
the next day by 225 runs to finish the series 4-1. www.barmy-army.com Gareth Llewellyn 8.
WE, the people of a free nation of blokes, sheilas and the occasional wanker. We come from many lands (although a few too many of us come from New Zealand) and although we live in the best country in the world, we reserve the right to bitch and moan about it whenever we bloody like. We are One Nation but we're divided into many States. First, there's Victoria, named after a queen who didn't believe in lesbians. Victoria is the realm of Mossimo turtlenecks, cafe latte, grand-final day and big horse races. Its capital is Melbourne, whose chief marketing pitch is that "it's liveable". At least that's what they think. The rest of us think it is too bloody cold and wet. Next, there's NSW, the realm of pastel shorts, macchiato with sugar, thin books read quickly and millions of dancing queens. Its capital Sydney has more queens than any other city in the world and is proud of it. Its mascots are Bondi lifesavers who pull their Speedos up their cracks to keep the left and right sides of their brains separate. Down south we have Tasmania, a State based on the notion that the family that bonks together stays together. In Tassie, everyone gets an extra chromosome at conception. Maps of the State bring smiles to the sternest faces. It holds the world record for a single mass shooting, which the Yanks can't seem to beat no matter how often they try. South Australia is the province of half-decent reds, a festival of foreigners and bizarre axe murders. SA is the state of innovation. Where else can you so effectively reuse country bank vaults and barrels as in Snowtown, just out of Adelaide (also named after a queen). They had the Grand Prix, but lost it when the views of Adelaide sent the Formula One drivers to sleep at the wheel. Western Australia is too far from anywhere to be relevant. It's main claim to fame is that it doesn't have daylight saving because if it did all the men would get erections on the bus on the way to work. WA was the last state to stop importing convicts and many of them still work there in the government and business. The Northern Territory is the red heart of our land. Outback plains, sheep stations the size of Europe, Kangaroos, Jackaroos, Emus, Uluru and dusty kids with big smiles. It also has the highest beer consumption of anywhere on the planet and its creek beds have the highest aluminium content of anywhere too. Although the Territory is the centre piece of our national culture, few of us live there and the rest prefer to fly over it on our way to Bali. And there's Queensland. While any mention of God seems silly in a document defining a nation of half-arsed sceptics, it is worth noting that God probably made Queensland as its beautiful one day and perfect the next?? Why he filled it with dickheads remains a mystery. Oh yes and there's Canberra. The least said the better. We, the citizens of Oz, are united by Highways, whose treacherous twists and turns kill more of us each year than murderers. We are united in our lust for international recognition, so desperate for praise we leap in joy when a rag tag gaggle of corrupt IOC officials tells us Sydney is better than Beijing. We are united by a democracy so flawed that a political party, albeit a redneck gun-toting one, can get a million votes and still not win one seat in Federal Parliament. Not that we're whingeing, we leave that to our Pommy immigrants!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We want to make "no worries mate" our national phrase, "she'll be right mate" our national attitude and "Waltzing Matilda" our national anthem (So what if it's about a sheep-stealing crim who commits suicide). We love sport so much our news readers can read the death toll from a sailing race and still tell us who's winning. And we're the best in the world at all the sports that count, like cricket, netball, rugby, AFL, roo-shooting, two-up and horse racing. We also have the biggest rock, the tastiest pies, the blackest aborigines and the worst-dressed Olympians in the known universe. We shoot, we root, we vote. We are girt by sea and pissed by lunchtime. Even though we might seem a racist, closed-minded, sports-obsessed little people, at least we feel better for it. You are, I am, we are Australian. Fiona Murphy 9. Hi, I'm John, I
moved out to Adelaide S.A. 20 years ago from Whitefield Manchester. Test Cricket
has never really been my strong point!! But my sister Barbara & her husband
Dave I must say I've never had so much fun and it was well worth loosing my voice for it. To sit and chant with your fellow country men brought so much happiness and joy back into my life, I thank-you for forming the GREAT BARMY ARMY! I've told all of my friends about it and what a good time I had. please keep up your fabulous work. Yours still singing John Robinson 10. There are so many stories that have come out of our month dedicated to cricket.... The sports pies, the open top bus rides, the singing the dancing and even the busking,with STD's at the SCG,wicket maidens, bloodshot eyes,5 hemeroids, no balls, being a disgrace and of course meeting Gladstone Small outside the MCG wearing Chino's and slip on shoes we have had more fun than any man is allowed.. but i'll cut to the story at hand.... Shane Warne is worshipped by the Ausies.... they love his fat little backside, his blonde floppy hair and his stupid Nike earing.... and so whenever he plays they make a bowing motion as if Warney were a god and endlessly chant "Warney warney warney"....youv'e probably heard it before... However the kid
Warne hurt his little arm trying to field the ball in a one day match and so
couldn't play in the test matches in Melbourne and in Sydney.... and so he was
replaced my one Stuart Mcgill... who as it happens is a really good leg spin
bowler.. but not quite as good as our Shane, and so has had to suffer living
in Mr Warnes shadow throughout almost all of his career... never really being
given a fair chance because of the nations love of "warney, warney, warney"....
11. Sir,being an exiled
Pom since the Thatcher years I have resided in Eleebana New South wales since
1991.I had previously spent 5 years in Aukland,N.Z. Mick Potts 12. My boyfriend and
I have just returned from Australia where we attended the Boxing Day and New
Year's Tests - and had an absolute ball! We were not with the Barmy Army, but
thoroughly enjoyed the singing and general support the Barmy Army generated
for England, and by the end of the day we joined in with the rest. We are now
planning our trip to West Indies in 2004. Beverley Dobson 13. To the organisers
/ leaders of the Barmy Army. (Finger Man etc..)
Just a big thanks
to all you mad england fans, for making my day at the cricket one to remember
(MCG day 3 Ashes test). Your songs are an inspiration to all. Even those aussies
like me with anglo-celtic heritage (ah but NO convict heritage). Of course,as
I spend % of my time singing tenor in a renaissance choir, here in sunny Melbourne,
I always appreciate quality chanting when i here it. 15. Spent a few days
at the Test in Melbourne and you made me wish I was young again. It was great
to hear you all supporting your team even under crushing circumstances in some
Tests. However, your team rallied in the last Test. Although I don't like to
see the Aussies lose, I was glad for the Army. I only wish this sort of thing
had been around when I was younger. Have a great time in South Africa and may
the best team take home the trophy - us of course. Trish Hollands
PS - by the time the Ashes are played here again, my second son should have left home and I will have the house to myself. So, if you like, you can put my details away (somewhere on your database) and perhaps I can help out with accommodation - maybe not for the whole Army but for a couple who may be left stranded. 16. Hi there, Fay 17. Sir 18. Both me & my
wife Vicky went to the Perth test Match in November 2002. Being a cricket fan
and a die hard England supporter, we got tickets in the area next to the Barmy
Army. 19. Hi all, Just thought I
would drop you a line to say how great a time I had in Sydney and how proud
to be with the army, watching great English cricket, great bunch of people and
a fair amounts of ozzies departing to the sin bin for been pissed. Nic 20. Congratulations Barmy Army, I've just returned
to work after attending the Fifth Test at Sydney. My third exposure to the wonderful
atmosphere provided by the lads and lasses of the Barmy Army was as good as
ever, perhaps made even better by sheer weight of numbers. I've seen every Ashes
Sydney Test since Ian Chappell's first as captain, when Ray Illingworth beat
us up with John Snow. Sam Tierney 21. Dear Army
22. BARMY BOYS!!!!!!!! Just a note to say i will never forget the tour of Australia.It's been the best time of my life and i will never forget anyone,ecspecially jimmy saville.I wish you all the best. best wishes 23. Well done lads, 24. I congratulate
your members currently here in Australia for their terrific vocals performed
over the present Ashes Tour. Your enthusiasm and good behaviour have brought
alive a potentially boring contest. The singing was great and the variety unendless.
Well done the Army!!!! It was a pleasure to hear your constant support for your
team and for cricket in general. Good luck for the coming one day series and
well done for the Sydney Test. 25. Congratulations
to your members, I attended the Perth test and was impressed with the barracking
from the Barmy Army. Nick 26. Being expatriot
POMS, living in Oz for nigh on 45 years, still one eyed dedicated supporters
of the England team, we are avid cricket attenders and watchers, and congratulate
you all for the wonderful support tou have given OUR team during the Test Series,
not one radio or TV commentor has had a bad word to say for your group, they
are now trying to conjure up an Australian version of your group, Imitation
is the best form of flattery. 27. To all Barmy Armiers(?)
on the Hill and smattered around the Ground. 28. This song does
not have a title but is to the tune of 'Auld Lang Syne'
Just wanted to
let you know that as a Kiwi living in Oz I have had a real laugh at the media
you are getting here! 30. To the Barmy Army
supporters. I love cricket and was excited to be in Melbourne and manage to
get to the 4th days play at the MCG. My husband and I ( I sound like the queen
) sat near the Barmy Army and were entertained all morning. I noticed all the
other Aussie supporters with a smile on the dial as well. 31. Great to see people
having fun & enjoying their cricket with out causung trouble or riots, keep
up the good work, most of all enjoy yourselves & have fun!!!!!! Chris Hayley 32. My name is Shaun & my wife Michele & our two kids Richard & Jasmine have been living "Down Under" for the past three years (& no we didn't steal a loaf of bread to get out here). We all went to the 2nd Day of the Fifth Test, partly because my son was invovled with the Milo lunch time cricket exhibition. Seated in the middle of the "Barmy Army" section it was a very emotional experience & I can honestly say I have never felt so patriotic in my entire life. Along with the "Barmy Army" we sang our hearts out & I was suprised that my kids new some of the more colourful words but that's Aussie education for you. I have been to many sporting occasions before in England but this was a unique experience on foreign soil & renewed feelings of homesickness. Despite the beaches, climate & lifestyle in the "convict colony" if it wasn't for the $3.00 to the pound I would be making immediate arrangements to fly home. The "Barmy Army" humour & their enthusiam was a credit to England & I thank all the lads & of course girls from the bottom of my heart for a fantastic days entertainment. Even the cricket had something for everyone. It would be hard to begrudge Steve Waugh his place in history but it can be viewed as consolation for the Poms going on to hopefully win the 5th Test & making the series 4-1. We might not have the best team in the world but we certainly have the best fans! Look forward to seeing you all again in four years time! Thanks for the memories, "Barmy Army" Poms in exile. 33. can u plz list
sum more songs down on this site. As an aussie, all i get is the pissy oi oi
oi thing and well, its rather good to hear a change in tune and humour for that
matter. It would b good if u could list as many more songs as possible. 34. To the barmy army
35. Dear Barmy Army 36. Well what a wonderful
festival of sportsmanship we have witnessed at the Australian "Sporting
Mecca" where at one point, the local sport-fanatical crowd were outnumbered
2 to 1 by the tourists (but not when entry was free) 37. hey there pommies......im
an aussie fan but i love u guys to death im going to the sydney test just to
listen to u guys so keep up the work and i got a song.........it goes like this 38. At the completion
of the 4th test today, I waited for the 2 skippers to talk on the MCG pa system.
Unfortunately the rude Barmy Army would not shut-up to enable the Australian
speakers to be heard. 39. Hi there, Rob Collett 40. hi people at the
barmy army, Naomi 'nomsta' Blashki 41. We are Expats living
in Sydney and it was great to see the Barmy Army in full voice at the SCG. Sitting
in amongst the Aussie fans whilst the Barmy Army sang on I was able to glean
a few memorable quotes from the local fans: 42. Dear Barmy Army, bernard 43. g'day I'm an aussie
and a mad cricket lover but I was at the gabba in Brisbane when England won
there 1st match of the tour against sri lanka and I would like to say that they
played good cricket and the crowd was awesome it was one of the best time's
I've had at the cricket good luck for the world cup but to bad you won't win
cause Australia will 44. HI, 45. I'm a massage therapist
from Perth, Western Australia, and a hockey fan. While the Ashes have been being
played, we've also been hosting women's world cup hockey. After a (not so successful)
day at the cricket, quite a contingent of the barmy army headed across to the
hockey. During the game there was much explaining of the rules, we're still
not sure how many of the army had ever watched hockey before. 46. Hi from an Aussie
(Convict) fan, 47. I have just come
back from the Adelaide Test to my home in Ballarat Victoria Australia. I have
never been so entertained at a cricket match. Ten men going to bed with Shane
Warne! Wednesday's wanking day! 32-31??? Long to reign over you! 48. G'day there! "Swannie" 49. after travelling to brisbane from melbourne with 3 mates to watch the first test and bumping in to the barmy-army for the fist time i must say the army made the brisbane test a great event all good clean fun and a pleasure and a joy to meet you people have a drink at the gabba hotel before and after the game your cricket team should be proud of you you were the one highlite of a very one sided test match so i hope your team does better in south aust and i will see you all again in melb i even bought 2 of your teashirts keep the good songs comming .all the best for the rest of your tour regards. david burgess 50. My first taste of english cricket abroad was the 93-94 tour to the
Caribbean. I was lucky enough to see england win a test in Bridgetown
Barbados, and saw Alec Stewart get a century in both innings.
The following year a travelled to OZ with a couple of mates, we spent three
weeks in perth and went to the test at the WACA. Although the ashes were
already out of our reach (yet again),we had won in Adelaide so spirits were
high when we caught up with the know famous "BARMY ARMY". Although the
atmosphere was unreal in barbados, perth with the vocals of the barmy army
was totally a new level. Every australian onslaught was met with more
english vocals.
The icing on the cake for me was getting a ticket to the "Barmy Army end of
tour party",this was held at the Sheraton hotel perth the hotel that the
england team was staying in. The team were there too singing along with the
rest of us 'there's only one graham thorpie" etc, etc. A total awesome
experience that i would definitely recommend to anyone. I feel proud to have
been part of 'the barmy army" or as one aborigine asked us upon our arrival
"are you part of" Barnies Army?" 51. Just a quick message to say THANKS to all the people I met on the Ashes tour...it was my first tour abroad and I loved every minute of it. Myself and my mate, Jim (the person who started the original Finger song..today is monday etc in Brisbane) met some great folks such as Carl,Loz,Wolfie,Little Paul,Big Paul,Martin Jenkins,Disco Dave,Jimmy Saville(Vic) and many more. I hope to see some of you in either Sri Lanka or the West Indies.
Cheers 52. Aussies! I sat in Bay 19 of the SCG with the army just to my right. I had never before experienced the noise and adulation given by English fans. I spent the first day and a bit learning the songs the rest of the second day and the third singing along but by the forth and fifth, with help of a few great lads namely the boys in spedos, I was on my seat leading a few chants! (much to the shock of my familly!) After the great performance by our boys I managed to get signatures of many of the aussies, which was great, then me and my dad and brother (who lives in Sydney) headed off to The Londoner Pub after drinking copious amounts in a pub with the three widows, a group of lads that went to every game game, sorry boys cant remember your names! oops, but I was the guy with the weird spiny thing that spelt out 'Barmy army' in the air!! With out the use of my voice from all the singing from the previous few days I wasn't much use in the clubs though and the women where lacking! That night was a great night of partying around the Bondi area unfortunatly I couldn't afford get in to town with the rest of the lads! I ended up staying in a pub/club watching footy and partying till the early hours then stumbled home! It is an experience I would recommend to any one who is in the slightest bit interested in cricket or any live sport. There is the camaraderie of rugby, the rivalry of football but with the added time to build up a rapour with opposition fans, a must for all true sports fans. The fact that beer is cheaper than the water is an added bonus!! I am already planning my next visit to Aus when I have finished Uni as it co-insides with the next ashes and my plan is to go to all of the test and a few one dayers too. Cant wait ot see you all there!! The Cornish Mike! (Prideaux) 53. Last November I fulfilled a long standing ambition to travel to Australia to see England win an ashes test. I may not have seen us win, but I came home with something a lot more special! Originally, my brother and my best friend were my travelling companions, but unfortunately they both pulled out at the last minute. Undettered, I pressed forward with my plans, even if it meant going alone! I knew there would be plenty of BA lads to get to know and share a beer with!! How glad am I that I did....the weather was just fantastic, the BA were legendary, and the cricket wasn't bad either. None of us could believe after we won the toss on day one, Nasser put them in.....oh my god.....and at the end of the first day, our worse fears were confirmed, however, we had the best of day two, bowling them out quite cheaply considering day one, and we did well to finish the second day relatively comfortably with the bat. Day 3, IMO was 50-50, so going into day 4, it was all to play for.....I hadn't counted on a now famous English collapse!! Oh well, so, I had the 5th day to see the sights instead!! I was there for two weeks all in all, and met a female friend who shared a common interest, we both loved the band Simple Minds. We struck up a very good relationship, and that continued on the phone when I got home.....she arrived here in the uk in February, and, things have gone so well, we're both going back to Brisbane to live in November this year!! I'm really looking forward to it, but no doubt i'll miss going to the football on a saturday (Birmingham City) Cricket on a sunday (Warwickshire) and of course, the British weather......YEAH RIGHT! LOL So, I may not have seen the lads chalk up a win at the Gabba, but I certainly won!!! Trevor Bishop
54. To the fantastic Boys and Girls of the Barmy Army I'm writting this letter to say thank you for the brilliant time I had during the Ashes and One-day games down in Melbourne. I was born in Yorkshire and my family left England when I was 10. I'm now sixteen and still have quite a resonable accent that makes me cop a lot of flak from the Aussies over here. I have, for the last 6 years always been a bit ashamed of my being English and even tried to put on an Aussie accent! This all changed during the Ashes. My dad dragged me along to the first game in Melbourne and we sat a couple of rows away from the Army. At first I was a bit embarrased by the the way you lot carried on and kept my t-shirt over my England football top and my flag in my bag for the first half hour. The thing that changed it all was after the Bay 13 boys (the Aussies) came out with the 487th randition of 'Aussie aussie aussie Oi oi oi' (which my dad reckons they stole off a Welsh football chant) within 10 minutes, the Army stood up and in vague harmony began to sing 'God Save Your Queen'. You cant understand what this did to me. Looking over the heaving, waving, dancing mass in front of me gave me a tingle up my spine and without even thinking about it I was on my feet, trying to pull off my t-shirt and get my flag out at the same time. My dad wasnt able to go to any of the other games and so i was left to go on my own. This was pretty daunting for me but i had some brilliant luck and met some fantastic blokes who looked after me for the next few games in Melbourne. Even though these guys went all around the place the always called me the day before the Melbourne games to tell me where to meet them. These six blokes didnt have to do this for me but they went out of their way to make sure i enjoyed myself, they even took me out after the games for a feed. They showed why England is the greatest nation on earth and why the English are the best people on it. Thanks very much fellers. Steve from London, Mark from London, 'Ladies Man' from Liverpool, Fat Tom from Stafford, Garry from Manchester and lastly but mostly Eddie from Yorkshire (you made me feel right at home).
Cheers
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