Not everyone approves. The esteemed former Telegraph and Times journalist Christopher Martin-Jenkins tempered the euphoria that surrounded England’s first Ashes series win in 18 years by accusing the Barmy Army of “demeaning English cricket”. Barney Ronay of the Guardian went further when England followed that long-awaited 2-1 win in 2005 with a humiliating 5-0 capitulation Down Under barely a year later. “The Barmy Army are annoying,” he wrote – as the visitors succumbed by 277 runs during another First-Test thrashing in Brisbane. “It’s not as if we haven’t seen it all before. Large, sunburnt men attempt a slow-motion conga. Someone waves a crumpled flag. Depressed-looking people in funny costumes suddenly wake up and start punching the air on catching a glimpse of themselves on the big screen.” It was, he said, no longer a “laughing matter”.
The Barmy Army, as you might expect, disagrees with this. Its acolytes point out that it raises money for charity; that it brings a noisy, exuberant presence to grounds, but not the hostile behaviour that other sports can attract. Visitors to its website (barmyarmy.com) will note that it is part of the International Cricket Supporters’ Committee, which tries to give fans a voice in a global game – and that it offers easy access to match tickets and travel for its members. It has certainly helped to inject an air of youthful excitement into a sport that can be overly attracted to the sober silence of the pavilions and the posh seats.
Of course, there is room for both forms of devotion to a game that tends to make lifelong believers of its spectators. Not, admittedly, at Lord’s, its spiritual home, which remains the only English Test ground that refuses to find an official place for the Barmy Army – and not, as far as away fans are concerned, in Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne or (to be confirmed) Perth over the next few weeks. But whatever the result in this latest Ashes collision, by the time New Zealand, India and South Africa fly into England for Test matches next summer, the Barmy Army’s soldiers will be back in position. Whatever your opinion of their antics, it is fair to say that the spectacle isn’t the same without them.
Join the Barmy Army in the Caribbean
The England cricket team’s next overseas tour will be of the West Indies, in January and March – including a three-match Test series (in Antigua, Barbados and Grenada) in the latter. Barmy Army membership (barmyarmy.com/membership) starts at £35 per year. Travel packages for the Caribbean are currently on sale at barmytravel.com. Among them are a 25-day break that takes in all three Tests, from £8,449 per person (including flights).
