barmy army set to swarm pakistan

[Amjid Javed]

Regardless of whether England or Pakistan come out on top in their upcoming cricket series, the big winners are likely to be the South Asian country's hotel owners.



Pakistan expects an massive invasion by England's "Barmy Army" of fans on a high following Michael Vaughan's side's historic Ashes triumph over rivals Australia last month.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said the English cricket authorities had warned them to brace for a rush of supporters due to soaring interest in the game. "We expect four times more than the usual number of guests and fans," PCB director of operations Abbas Zaidi told AFP.

"At the moment we can't give the exact number but we are liaising with the England and Wales Cricket Board and Pakistan's High Commission (embassy) in England."

England arrive in Pakistan on October 26 to play three Tests and five one-day matches. The first Test starts in the central city of Multan from November 12.

Just as an influx of Indian fans provided a windfall for Pakistani hoteliers during India's tour last year, the business has high hopes during the England series.

"There are no rooms during the Test match because all our 94 rooms are booked," said Naveed Nazir of the Holiday Inn, the only four-star hotel in Multan, which is charging 150 dollars a day.

Other smaller hotels have doubled their rates to 75 and 100 dollars a day.

Faisalabad, the venue of the second Test from November 20, is even more jammed as all 140 rooms in the only five-star hotel, the Serena, have been booked by the Pakistan Cricket Board for teams, guests and fans.

And the border city of Lahore expects fans from neighbouring India as well as England for the third Test from November 29, as well as for the first two one-day internationals in early December.

"It's business time for us," said Farhan Zakir, sales director at the five-star hotel Pearl Continental, which has rooms available but at a high price of 250 to 300 dollars a day.

The tour has an added edge following Vaughan's comments that England want to take Australia's crown as the number one side in the world.

They can only do that by beating Pakistan and then India, where they tour early next year, although if Australia also play well in their winter series against West Indies and South Africa then they will likely stay on top.

"Ticket sales are likely to start next week through the Internet and banks, so the ball is already rolling," added the PCB's Zaidi.

In the meantime the PCB is also completing security preparations for the England team as well as for the Barmy Army. England said they would only play a one-day instead of a proposed Test in the violence-plagued southern port city of Karachi.

"We are finalising our preparations to be worthy hosts," Zaidi added.

Pakistan's hospitality industry is also looking forward to welcoming its guests. "It's not just for business, it's also time to create a better image of the country," said the Lahore Pearl Continental's Zakir

[Aurangzeb]

looks like england will have home advantage for the test matches as our stadiums will be empty...

[Rob H]

looks like england will have home advantage for the test matches as our stadiums will be empty...
:19:Good to see the fans making the long journey to asia. Wish i could join them.

[Amir]

:19:Good to see the fans making the long journey to asia. Wish i could join them.

Yes we would send Nauman to recieve you..........with a bat.

[Saj]

I just hope there are no negative incidents which tarnish the reputation of Pakistan and its people.

[Big Harvey]

I don't know how many they're expecting us to bring. Most of the usual organised tour groups aren't even coming, citing 'lack of demand'.

It will certainly be more than last time, but I can't imagine it being more than about 300-400 for any given Test, and much fewer for the one-dayers. Hopefully some of those greedy hoteliers who are jacking up their prices will get their fingers burnt, because most of us are not as rich as many people seem to think we are, do not take kindly to being ripped off, and will ask around amongst our friends until we find a reasonable deal.

The reason the Holiday Inn in Multan is fully booked is that many people took advantage of a special deal that was being offered on-line, presumably before they realised the cricket was on. The amount that most people will be paying there will be much less than stated in that article.

[Amjid Javed]

Yes we would send Nauman to recieve you..........with a bat.

:)))

[Rob H]

I don't know how many they're expecting us to bring. Most of the usual organised tour groups aren't even coming, citing 'lack of demand'.

It will certainly be more than last time, but I can't imagine it being more than about 300-400 for any given Test, and much fewer for the one-dayers.
you don't know the barmy army do you? England fans have outnumbered home fans in Australia, South Africa, West Indies. Pakistan is the next one on their hit list. It'll be thousands attending the tests, not hundreds.

[suhaib]

they have also put heera mandi down, in places to visit. its on there site

[Amjid Javed]

KARACHI: In a bid to bring back the crowds for the three Tests against England, the Pakistan cricket authorities have decided not only to make two thirds of the seating space at each venue available free of cost for the people but have also slashed tickets prices drastically.

‘The News’ has learnt from sources in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that ticket prices for the Tests in Multan, Faisalabad and Lahore would only be 400 rupees (season) and 100 rupees (daily) for the two best enclosures and 200 rupees (season) and 50 rupees (daily) for enclosures in the second tier.

"The rest of the seating space including some enclosures and the general stand, which make up two thirds of the total seating space at the Test venues, would be available to the public for free," one disclosed.

But he said even for the free space, students and the public would’ve to obtain free tickets on first come-first serve basis at the banks and stadiums for security reasons. "The tickets will be given free of cost but we want to avoid a ruckus at the stadium and ensure even those arriving in the stadiums free of cost are security checked properly which is why they’ve to obtain the tickets to get into the enclosures," he added.

England squad arrive on 26 October to play three Tests and five One-day Internationals.

The first Test in Multan starts from November 12.

The source said however for the one-dayers the ticket prices had been increased a bit as the Board didn’t want to lose out completely on gate receipts and there would be no free seating space given in the five matches. "The ticket for the best enclosures (2) have been set at 2000 from 1500 rupees which was the rate against India last year in the one-dayers. "The other ticket rates are 1200 rupees, 500 rupees and the lowest is priced at 100 rupees," the source added.

The total seating capacities of the three venues where the five one-dayers are scheduled are: 23,700 (Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore), 33,500 (National Stadium, Karachi) and 19,400 (Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi). Lahore and Pindi are hosting two one-day matches each against England.

The source said the deal for the designing, printing and sale of the tickets would be given in the next two days to the party which had handled the sale of tickets against India and in following series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.

"The sale of tickets on the Internet will start by October 12 while the tickets for each match would be available at least five days in advance at the stadiums and selected bank branches," he explained.

Asked if the same rates of the tickets would be applicable to those people who purchase tickets on the Internet, he said the Board would add credit-card service charges and other costs to the prices of the tickets. "But even then say if a ticket is sold in Pakistan for 2000 rupees, it will cost around 2500 rupees ($45) on the Internet," he outlined.

The tickets once again will have special security bars on them, which will store details of the person (s) purchasing it through the Internet or from the booths.

To a question, the source confirmed some seats had been pre-allocated to sponsors as per the contractual obligations.

[Kashif]

In a bid to bring back the crowds for the three Tests against England, the Pakistan cricket authorities have decided not only to make two thirds of the seating space at each venue available free of cost for the people...

Now this is breaking news. The pessimist in me says that people still will not go. The kids and students might attend.

[Big Harvey]

you don't know the barmy army do you? England fans have outnumbered home fans in Australia, South Africa, West Indies. Pakistan is the next one on their hit list. It'll be thousands attending the tests, not hundreds.

Yes I do, RH. I am basing my estimate on previous tours I've been on. I would estimate that the numbers will be higher than in Bangladesh a couple of years ago, (where about 200 were present in Dhaka and about 120 in Chittagong), but less than the 600 or so who were at Johannesburg and Centurion last winter.

The fact that most of the organised tours that are normally run to watch England are not going, due to 'lack of demand,' (including the Barmy Army's own tour incidentally), means that even a few people who would normally have attended won't be this time. Some people just don't travel independently.

Pakistan as a travel destination has a massive image problem, and is seen by many England fans as a place where there is no nightlife and very little to do after the game. This image will not be enhanced by reports of hotels doubling and tripling their rates to coincide with our visit. There are also the perceived security problems, of course, and the fact that drinking alcohol is a big part of Barmy Army culture. All these factors will serve to keep the numbers down.

It will just be the hardcore fans in attendance. A large percentage of those are streetwise, hardened backpacking types travelling on a shoestring budget. Clean but basic hotels and guesthouses charging a sensible price will do well out of their visit, but I suspect that hotels doubling their rates to try and cash in will be disappointed. Don't these hoteliers think we read the Lonely Planet?

The really large invasions of big-spending England supporters tend to happen in popular holiday or tourist destinations, such as Sydney, Melbourne, Cape Town, Barbados, Antigua, etc. Somehow, with respect, I can't see Faisalabad having quite the same appeal.

[Monsee]

Pakistan as a travel destination has a massive image problem, and is seen by many England fans as a place where there is no nightlife and very little to do after the game. This image will not be enhanced by reports of hotels doubling and tripling their rates to coincide with our visit. There are also the perceived security problems, of course, and the fact that drinking alcohol is a big part of Barmy Army culture. All these factors will serve to keep the numbers down.



I am quite interested to know how these fans got Alcohol in BD; as per you roughly 150-200 fans were in BD, where did they find the night life and Alcohol?

As per my impression, BD society is even more stricter in terms of Islamic law and all:13:

[Munda Pakistani]

you don't know the barmy army do you? England fans have outnumbered home fans in Australia, South Africa, West Indies. Pakistan is the next one on their hit list. It'll be thousands attending the tests, not hundreds.

You don't know Pakistan do you? ;-) In the Tests, agreed; my family could probably outnumber the rest of the crowd. But if the Barmy Army think they're going to outnumber or outcheer home fans in the ODIs, they better think again. People in the subcontinent have their own way of watching cricket, and it's slightly different from England, Australia and SA. :11:

[irfan]

I seriously doubt Eng fans have outnumbered home fans in Australia, no way!

[Big Harvey]

I am quite interested to know how these fans got Alcohol in BD; as per you roughly 150-200 fans were in BD, where did they find the night life and Alcohol?

As per my impression, BD society is even more stricter in terms of Islamic law and all:13:

There is no permit system in Bangladesh, and no law against people (Muslim or otherwise) drinking alcohol, although it's not encouraged, of course!

Before going to Bangladesh, we Knew that there were ex-pats' clubs where if we joined or got signed in, we could get a beer. We also quickly found that some hotels had bars.

While at the cricket on the first day, we were befriended by a local who liked a drink, and before long, we had a map of Dhaka with about 16 bars marked on it! These bars are hidden away in the most unlikely places, have their windows blacked out, and are mostly lit by a single 20 watt bulb. They don't exactly advertise their presence, and the casual visitor to Dhaka would never know such places existed. They generally sell just one or two types of beer (in cans), plus whisky, and sometimes vodka. It's very expensive (alcohol is very heavily taxed), with a can of Foster's costing anything from about £1.50 to £2.50! The opening hours of these places are strictly controlled, and they don't open at all on Fridays (Unless you happen to know someone who can have a quiet word with the owner, organise a few rickshaws, and usher you in very discretely through a back entrance, of course!)

In Chittagong, things were a bit more problematic. The Chittagong Club behind the ground sold beer, but not to people who weren't wearing a tie (ie 98% of the Barmy Army!). Eventually though, the shared intelligence network struck gold, finding a locally run hotel with a tiny bar, selling small cans of ice-cold Kronenbourg.

[Big Harvey]

I seriously doubt Eng fans have outnumbered home fans in Australia, no way!

Only on the odd very sparsely attended day when we were winning, which of course doesn't happen very often in Australia!

I've a feeling it might have happened on the day we clinched victory at the SCG in the final Test of the 2002-3 Ashes series. I wasn't there, so I can't say for certain.