Andy wrote:

That was all just bizarre regarding them students. Heard a couple of people (genuine cricket fans) got hurt from things being thrown too which is terrible.

If the club are gonna continue to peddle this 'FORTRESS EDGBASTON' moniker though and show videos on social media of beer snakes and people all dressed up getting lairy at Test matches, other people are gonna wanna come down and do the same as they think it's fair game...they've created a bit of a monster.

The game, it's incredible we even got 167. Literally only Pollock, Lamb, Burgess and Brez got any runs. Derbyshire's extra pace was a key difference, they fielded very well. So did we though. I do worry about Brez with the ball in this format, he's hittable these days. I said this at the start of the comp. Don't think we'll see Norwell again in this format, bowls both sides of the wicket. We're missing H. Brookes on those type of pitches.

Thought we'd pulled it out the fire when we got them 5 down!

I still enjoyed it.

You're right about the reputation and people like Vaughan always praising the 'Beer snakes' as though it was great fun would change their minds if that had to sit through 3 hours of it. I am glad I don't sit in the Hollies stand when T20 games are on.

GerryShedd wrote:

Maybe the ECB are secretly congratulating themselves that it really is possible to attract people to cricket who don't like cricket, which is the whole basis of The Hundred, otherwise known as Cricket, Re-hashed And Pimped.
What a shame that there isn't a handy acronym that they could use.

As far as I am concerned, the ECB have done the job. Over the years the T20 Blast ahs attracted bigger and bigger crowds so the goal has been achieved. The only problem is the people who watch it are only interested in T20 and nothing else. A visit to a CC game would frighten the life out of them. It seems to me as though the Hundred is a way of trying to create a Big Bash/IPL scenario and I do not think it will work. If it does, it will be the boorish lot I saw last night who will 'watch' it.

With regards to the increasingly pointless Covid theatrics spectators are subject to I couldn't care less tbh. Given that
Wembley will be welcoming 40000+ non-socially distanced football fans on Monday without any mandatory pre-testing
the legislations has now descended into farce as any sentient being knew it would eventually.

The portentious warnings regarding £1000 fines are just noise. When this “legislation” was introduced after the antics of
Pakistan supporters during several pitch invasions over the course of summer 2001 it was pointed out that it did not carry the force of law.
These rules are not the same as those that cover football grounds. They're basically private trespass regs supposedly backed by police action.
The latter is usually not applied. Much like those Coronavirus breaches that have made it to court most get thrown out on technicalities so the police tend not to take it any further.

That's not to excuse last night's behaviour. Edgbaston has set itself up as “Party Central” and even though the ensuing carnage seems to have been organised by an outside agency Stuart Cain and his predecessors can hardly hold up their hands in mock innocence. This is the inevitable result of the constant encouragement of this particular type of punter to attend.

My tip, although we're not attending any this year, is the safest,sanest place to be on T20 nights is on top the old press box. It's up a few flights of stairs and far enough away from most of the bars to discourage frequent visits.

The incident represents an inability of any party to take responsibility for their actions. The club and the ECB have been happy to build up the Hollies Stand as the place to go on a T20 or England match day if you want to get hammered, not watch the cricket and generally make an a*se of yourself (Sorry, "The Party Stand") I can imagine nothing worse than sitting there for a Test Match or T20 game.

The organising company cannot promise "free flowing pints" and a "Summer Day Party from the gods" (The company's own advert, according to the BBC website) and then act surprised when some of their clientele cant hold their beer.

Alternatively, those who got hammered, broke the ground regulations and potentially landed the club in the sh*t also need to learn responsibility for their own actions; they may be banned from Edgbaston for life (Not that most of them will care) or they may be expelled from their university (Which they will care about) either way, they may be about to reap the consequences.