The Barmy Army is a group of fanatic English cricket fans who are widely famous for their relentless support. The group supports its cricket team through thick and thin and follows them to all corners of the globe.
It was back in 1994/95 when the Australian media termed the passionate English supporters as the “Barmy Army”. A struggling England toured Australia for the infamous Ashes and despite their side’s flagging fortunes in that particular bilateral series, the Barmy Army still drove to the grounds in numbers.
The Barmy Army is usually prominent for its vociferous support and is also known for tempting the opposition through unusual chants, songs, banners and flags. And when England face Bangladesh today in a do-or-die Pool A match at Adelaide Oval, the Barmy Army will no doubt be full of emotions.
However, in spite of its customary hostility towards the opponent, the Barmy Army supporters actually looked busy yesterday taking autographs of the Bangladesh cricketers. An unusual sight indeed.
John Hasting was one of the autograph-hunters. Hasting, in his mid fifties, did not hesitate to take autographs of each and every Bangladesh cricketer although he does not know any of them with the exception of opener Tamim Iqbal and all-rounder Shakib al Hasan.
“I have seen this young boy playing some good innings back in England a couple of years ago (indicating Tamim’s back-to-back hundreds at Lord’s and Old Trafford in 2010). And that boy, I guess he is the number one all-rounder (Shakib),” he said.
He went on to ask, “Who is the captain of your side?”, which clearly indicates that the travelling English fans are taking an interest in the Tigers.
Even though Hasting will undoubtedly support England today, the respect that the Barmy Army has reserved for the Tigers is an unusual development, given the group’s chequered history.
The Tigers fans on the other hand are also famed for their unwavering support. Perhaps, the day is not far away when the Bangladesh supporters will also be famous throughout the cricketing world, just like the Barmy Army.
