Australian cricket takes tough approach this summer

Australian cricket today reinforced its total commitment to cricket fans this summer by announcing a tough approach to spectators who attend matches with the intention of spoiling the occasion for others.

Cricket Australia Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland said the game’s stakeholders – the state cricket associations, ground authorities and police – had formed a united approach to back the majority of fans who genuinely come along to the cricket for a positive experience.

“We want what fans want,” Mr Sutherland said. “We want people coming to grounds to be able to enjoy the cricket in comfort, to enjoy the buzz of being a part of a large crowd, to have fun with family and friends and to give vocal support to their team.

“We don’t want to be kill-joys; we want to make sure everyone who attends matches this summer has a positive and enjoyable experience.

“We have done significant work and reviews since last season, and that has included research with cricket fans and they, like we, know that there are a small number of people at matches who misbehave.

“Our message today is come along, enjoy yourself and have fun. But if your idea of fun is to spoil someone else’s day, we will identify you and we will take action. It’s as simple as that.”

Mr Sutherland said the public passion for the coming season offered Australian cricket the chance to leave a legacy for the sport by creating a positive experience which encourages the record number of fans attending this year to keep coming back.

“We can’t promise to totally eradicate bad behaviour that stems from a minority group. No doubt there will be some idiots over the summer who do the wrong thing. But we can assure fans that we will do all we can this season and in subsequent seasons to make their day the best it can be.

“This is a matter of encouraging all fans whether they come from around the corner or around the world to have fun and respect those around you as you would in any other public setting.”

Australian cricket’s strong approach on managing venue behaviour includes:

• Extra staffing at entry points, with more personnel monitoring behaviour around the ground;
  
  
• Increased use of Closed Circuit Television to monitor possible trouble spots at grounds;
  
  
• Adoption of the International Cricket Council’s anti-racism initiatives, which include the trial of an SMS program to alert venue personnel of potential trouble spots;
  
  
• Tougher enforcement of rules at entry points, including of banned articles;
  
  
• Entry exclusion and ejection of people who are obviously intoxicated;
  
  
• Newspaper advertisements to appear in the days leading up to each Test match encouraging fans to have fun but be respectful of those around them;
  
  
• Public service announcements and scoreboard messages from Australian players encouraging responsible behaviour to be played during matches;
  
  
• Bag inspections at grounds with prohibited items removed. A list of banned items will be detailed on the website, in public communications and displayed at venues.

Before each Test match, the local state cricket association, ground authorities and local police will brief the local public in their state on the details of these initiatives as they apply to each venue.

While Mr Sutherland reinforced the principles to the tougher approach, he called on spectators to be aware of specifics relating to the venues they planned to attend this summer.

“We’ll be providing more details about these initiatives in the lead up to each Test match and reminding people regularly throughout the summer not only about the standard of behaviour expected at grounds but that action will be taken against anyone who fails to show respect for the people around them.

“There will be some changes at venues this summer, and I encourage spectators to understand the detail and specifics as they apply to each ground.

“We’re taking these measures to create the best experience we can for fans; we don’t want to inconvenience supporters and trust they will join with us to make this the best summer of cricket yet.”