Archives

MELBOURNE, Wednesday (AFP) The Melbourne Cricket Ground is rated as one of the world's worst three venues for crowd trouble and its shameful standing has jeopardised future one-day matches there, the Australian Cricket Board said on Wednesday.

ACB chief executive James Sutherland said the MCG was rated by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as one of the worst three for interruptions in play, trespassing and unruly crowd behaviour.

The ACB, police and the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) have urged fans to behave at Sunday's triangular one-day series match between Australia and England.

More than 30 fans were arrested and almost 500 ejected from matches there last summer. The latest plea for good behaviour comes as the ICC considers banning troublesome grounds from hosting one-dayers. "It's pretty clear from the International Cricket Council's point of view that the MCG is in the worst three grounds in the world for crowd behaviour based on the record in the last few years," Sutherland said at a press conference here on Wednesday.

"There is no doubt that the ICC have taken a much stronger view of poor crowd behaviour and they will shortly be introducing the powers to ban grounds where they don't meet the standards or they have a record that has been inferior to the required standards in the past." Hooligans will be on notice on Sunday with an increased police presence earlier than on previous match-days. Patrons will have their bags searched, there will be tougher alcohol restrictions with more dry areas and automatic ejection for throwing missiles. But Shane Warne on Wednesday supported the MCG masses and their behaviour. "I don't think the Victorian crowds are the worst in the world, definitely not," Warne said on Wednesday.

"I think the Victorian crowd and the MCG crowd are absolutely sensational. I think they get right behind Australia. "I think there's one or two people all over the world, let alone in Melbourne, who take it over the top but as far as we're concerned we just want to worry about playing cricket on the field and hopefully the spectators come to watch some entertaining cricket."

Cricket Victoria chief executive Ken Jacobs said stripping Melbourne of its one-day internationals would have a disastrous affect on cricket's grassroots. "To lose the revenue streams obviously would have a big impact on the game," Jacobs said. Sutherland said the ICC's list of troublesome grounds also included two in India, where the recent India-West Indies series was marred by missile-throwing, with one match in Rajkot abandoned after West Indian fielders were pelted with plastic water bottles.

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager