No change in crowd law

By Ted Corbett

LONDON, SEPT. 28. Despite pleas from the cricket authorities to government, there will be no change in the law following the pitch invasions at Lord's, Edgbaston and Headingley this summer. ``The recommendations are sensible,'' says the Minister for Sport Richard Caborn after reading the report of the Cricket Disorder Review Group which was set up after the troubles in the NatWest one-day international tournament and came down heavily against new legislation.

The truth is that the British government had at that time - and even more so in the present international crisis - better ways of spending time and public money. The three pitch invasions caused endless debate among the cricket correspondents and the chattering classes at large but it was quite obviously a little local difficulty and is unlikely to return until the Pakistanis tour here again. Only one person was seriously hurt, and two others slightly. The next Pakistan visit is far into the future and, unless there is an improvement in the international scene, likely to be even further away.

Tim Lamb, the chief executive, gave a cautious welcome to the outcome of the inquiry but the England and Wales Cricket Board is not pleased that it has no law to equal the one which governs football in this country; but there is no need for such legislation. Football has crowd trouble regularly but for cricket, from the sleepy days around the county circuit to the floodlit nights of one-day matches, trouble is a rarity.

I was once sent to ask the Sydney police about what a British newspaper suggested was a `riot' - there were to be a dozen arrests - and received the ultimate put-down from the inspector in charge. ``That might be a riot in cricket terms,'' he said laconically, ``but it was not even a noisy demonstration as far as we were concerned.''

The report makes two recommendations. It says the police and cricket's governing bodies keep their eyes on the situation; and that the public be made more aware of the punishments which can be meted out to those who invade grounds. As the whole of last summer seemed to be taken up with loud speaker announcements and scoreboard messages about the consequences of running on to the pitch I guess that point has already been well made. I guess too that, like the government, the British police has got more worthwhile troubles at this moment of international tension.

Meanwhile, England has arrived in Zimbabwe for five one-day internationals which will cause no trouble and provide large amounts of cash for the impoverished Zimbabwe Union. Nasser Hussain promised as he left that he would behave as anyone might expect an England captain to behave: politely, greeting everyone graciously and, if necessary, shake the hand of Robert Mugabe, a Prime Minister who has been demonised in this country as the force behind the recent attacks on white farmers. ``I keep out of politics,'' said Hussain. ``I don't think I have even voted.'' That may be a sad admission for a 32-year-old with a wife and son but it may serve England well in the next three weeks and in India from November.

Hussain has greater worries about his playing strength. At the last minute, England was forced to leave Craig White behind, thus reducing its frontline bowling force to a handful of inexperienced youngsters: Ryan Sidebottom, Martin Hoggard, James Kirtley and the spinning all-rounder Paul Grayson. Kirtley undermined England's confidence with brilliant aggressive bowling for Mashonaland when it last visited Zimbabwe and after a good season with Sussex he may be its best bet on pitches that obviously suit him.

The purpose of this trip is to give England experience ahead of the 2003 World Cup but it has ended up with such a weak squad that the only benefit may come from a new chance for Graham Thorpe to show that his broken hand is cured and that he can be a major force in India and New Zealand later this winter.

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