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Killjoy cricket officials have banned the Barmy Army's Billy the Trumpet from playing during Friday's Fourth Test as authorities announced they would be clamping down on unruly behaviour at Headingley.
Traditionalists have become increasingly tired of the booing and jeering that was heard in the First Test in Cardiff and the last encounter at Edgbaston, where Ricky Ponting was subjected to a volley of abuse when he came out to bat.
Former England captain Michael Atherton described the tirade aimed at Ponting as 'ridiculous' and England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Giles Clarke has urged supporters to lay off the tourists' captain.
Clarke has written a note in the programme for the match reminding fans that the Aussie has "earned the respect and courtesy" of the crowd and that the game may "never see his like again".
Yorkshire chief executive Stewart Regan confirmed that trumpeter Bill Cooper will not be permitted to play his instrument, despite being allowed to last week at Edgbaston, and that anyone who behaves in an unacceptable manner will be ejected.
Regan said: "It goes against ground regulations. We have decided in conjunction with our security officer we will not allow musical instruments in the ground."
Yorkshire have also increased their stewarding levels by 20 per cent and will be closing the bars in the ground for one hour during afternoons.
The heavy-handed moves, though, appear to have gone against the wishes of the Australians after both Ponting and team-mate Shane Watson said they love the way supporters behave in England.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, the Aussie skipper said: "One of the memories I will take from Edgbaston was the extraordinary noise.
"I am told that some people have been upset about the fact that some England fans were booing me but I thought that it was a terrific atmosphere to play in and I loved every minute.
"I have said for a long time that the Barmy Army are the best sporting crowd in the world.
"It is always good light-hearted stuff and when England have a good sniff of winning, the volume goes up tenfold. They add a lot to the whole experience of the Ashes."
Watson added: "I have loved the banter - it's been excellent and great fun.
"If there is more booing [for Ponting] that's the way it is. It will keep Ricky charging forward because he has copped a lot worse in his time."
Regan defended Yorkshire's position and insisted that they would not stop fans booing players but wanted to stop them from feeling intimidated.
He said: "It is about getting a balance right between allowing people to support and cheer for the team that they want to win - hopefully in our case England - and taking that a step too far.
"A lot has been said about the Barmy Army and their behaviour, particularly at Edgbaston.
"It is fair to say the behaviour of the majority of the Barmy Army is usually very good and equally the same can be said of many spectators."
Cooper, whose trumpet was allowed back into all grounds, except Headingley, last year after a three-year ban, said: "I have played in some volatile atmospheres and, to be honest, hearing the trumpet takes things the other way and takes the sting out of things - it is very frustrating for me."
Reader views (13)
Ponting generally does not care - he enjoys the banter....
if anything i think everyone is just bored with the repetition and monotony... how many times can you trumpet the theme from the great escape.......puh-lease.
new material is all we are whineging about !
England capitulated today - as always reliant on a one-man national team....Flintoff, Johnny Wilkinson,David Beckham...Lose one player, lose the match....typical England.
Without Flintoff and Rudi Koertzon on your side (with numerous favourable ENGLAND decisions) say goodbye to regaining the ashes.
Typical Rubbish England
England got smashed in the first session of the day and have lost any grip on the ashes they had against an under-performing Australian team.
The English media have spent too much time convincing everyone that without Warne/McGrath then they are rubbish.
In comparison to the Aus teams of old, we may be..but even your best cant beat our rubbish over 5 test series...
You all know it...
Australia for a 2-1 win.... Bet your house on it.
- Steve Mcqueen, sydney australia
Barmy Army - very boring.
- Hatchet, Newcastle, Australia
This is insanity. It appears as though the Yorkshire Club are taking their advice from the ultra politically correct Cricket Australia. Aussies love hearing the atmosphere of the English crowds especially when playing us. They give the Aussies plenty of lip and that's the way it should be, because we give plenty to the England side when they're over here. Banning the trumpet. What next? Ban laughter. Hope the Barmy Army get right into it.
- Chris, Currumbin QLD
Good, I'm glad he's been banned. If he wants to play trumpet badly he can go out to some island someplace off of the coast of Antartica to do it, although that's a bit harsh on the penguins. Have you ever stood anywhere near this fool during a test match?
- Dave, braintree uk
I do not blame the organisers from banning rowdies.People pay a high price for tickets & do not relish having their day spoilt by selfish,noisy hooligans.
- Ronald Whitten, Chesterfield England
On the one hand they want to save the five day game,and with the other they want to kill the main supporters off,great thinking.
- David, london
"Its the football element taking over, with their usual foul anti foreigner chants."
....which is ironic when you think ofthe large number of foreigners now playing for England - supplemented now by South African Jonathan Trott.
- Keith Price, Luton England
What planet does Keith Price come from when he says the Aussie supporters are more fair minded than the English . Has he been to the WACCA in a test series against England . I,m no apologist for the more exterme elements of the Barmy army and they should be controlled but to ban the trumpeter is utter over reaction and lets qualify their support by echoing Pontings praise of the Barmy Armys support of the England team all over the world so dont throw the baby out with the bath water ! To say how wonderfully well behaved the Aussies are carrys a message to get the men with white coats to examine Mr Prices thought processes. Whilst on the subject there is not a more vitriolic press than the Aussie press.
- Peter French, Orihuela Costa Spain
James, with the current apprehension rate, they are probably all on the loose from Bedlam anyway
- Captain Black Of The Mysterons, London, England
I’ve got no issues if Ponting gets booed as he comes out to bat - after all he plays the role of pantomime villain extremely well! However I would be upset if he was booed on reaching a milestone such as a century or breaking another record.
As for the suggestion that Aussie fans are fair-minded? Have you ever been to a test match in Melbourne or Sydney? Can anyone remember the abuse Tufnell used to get out there?
- Matt, London, UK
Its the football element taking over, with their usual foul anti foreigner chants. The most pathetic moronic chants coming from the Barmy Army, a group of mindless drunken idiots who ruin the game for the real cricket lovers. Most of these clowns should be sectioned under the mental health act.
- James, Manchester England
It's not the effect on Ponting that is most worrying, but the terminal effect on the English gameof of the needless and disgusting abuse this collection of racist morons hurls at non-matives. The English fans could learn a lesson from the far more fair-minded Aussie fans.
- Keith Price, Luton England
Mr Clarke, stop charging us around £100/day for a seat at a test match and then you can start telling us how to behave. You've sold the right to moralise over our behaviour.
Ponting doesn't have a problem with it and I am sure he's pretty nonplussed by the head of the ECB feeling the need to stick up for him!
As long as the England players are happy with them, the Barmy Army should continue to do as they do.
- St, London
