Barmy Ashes Tour Preview

By Sam Morris

Andrew Strauss and his England side are looking to win the Ashes on Australian soil for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century. They will soon play their first warm up game ahead of the massive series. Thousands of England fans are set to support them on the other side of the world and will soon be joining them. Many of those supporters will have arranged their trips through the Barmy Army, the well known England supporter’s group.

The Barmy Army had several packages on offer for fans who wanted to support the England side, and the tours have been in the planning for well over a year in advance to the start of the series, meaning heavy workloads for many staff.

Jake Hardman, office manager for the Barmy Army, has been heavily involved in the planning and selling of the packages available to the thousands of loyal English fans. He has revealed that preparations have been ongoing for many months.

“Our allocation of tickets went on sale to our members last December; a whole ten months before the series even begins and all the planning for the packages started between two and three months before that.”

“There have been a lot of discussions going on with organisations in Australia since last year to organise all the tours we put on, so we have been organising and selling these tours for well over a year already” explained Jake.

With well over 1,000 fans expected to travel officially with the Barmy Army, the organisation and planning for the tours involves a lot more than many people would expect. However, Jake revealed that most of the graft and hard work is done by an outside agency.

“There are 10 licensed operators for the Ashes. In order for the Barmy Army to receive an allocation of tickets we had to work through Cricket Australia Travel Office. It is them that do most of the hard work, organising hotels, allocating the Barmy Army with tickets and making sure it is all sorted.”

“The hotels are arranged based on the demographic of the supporters that travel with us, for example we have pensioners travelling with us, students on gap years, divorcees. Cricket Australia Travel Office take this all into account when arranging hotels for our packages, so there is a whole range on offer. All the packages are then hosted on our website and members can purchase them from ther” added Jake, who has worked for the Barmy Army for a year and a half, having graduated from University.

There is a staggering amount of work involved in putting on any overseas tour, let alone an Ashes series, especially when the England team are so highly fancied to retain the urn on Aussie soil.

Yet Jake and his many colleagues believe they could not ask for a better and more pleasurable job.

“I really enjoy organising the packages and selling them on. It has been a bit different this year as we have had to put tickets and accommodation together. This is the first time we have organised a tour this way, as it was the only way we could be guaranteed in getting an allocation of tickets for our members.”

“Some of the supporters would rather be able to arrange their own accommodation to suit themselves and we would normally allow this, but the only way we could source tickets through Cricket Australia Travel Office was to sell the tickets and accommodation as one package.”

“The Barmy Army was set up as an independent group, as we all wanted to arrange things ourselves but be together at matches, but we are getting more official and more in-sync with regulations and unfortunately we had to organise the tour this way. I still do really enjoy my job despite the way it is changing.”

“Without doubt Adelaide was the easiest to organise. The allocation of tickets we have here is a general allocation. We are on a grass bank and can mingle with all fans, so this is definitely the easiest venue to organise the package for.”

“Knowing that I have helped thousands of fans fulfil their dreams of watching an Ashes series in Australia gives me a buzz. To hear them all singing and to see them all
dancing in the stands, knowing my hard work helped them get there is really rewarding.”

The Barmy Army, led by Jimmy the Leader and Billy the trumpet player, always create a colourful and boisterous atmosphere wherever the England team are and it is sure to be the same again in Australia.

Jake believes that the support the players receive spurs them on during a game and that the Barmy Army could have a real influence in this winter’s tour.

“The players love the support and banter that the Barmy Army brings to the games and I believe it does spur them on. Whether the support influences the result is debateable. It can be over exaggerated, but it definitely shouldn?t be under estimated.”

“I am sure the players get a real adrenaline rush when they see the thousands of fans in the stands supporting them.”

With England currently holding the Ashes, a draw in Australia would see Andrew Strauss and his team retain the urn and Jake believes we will be bringing it home with us.

“I will be there at all five venues supporting the lads and I think we will get a draw in the series and retain the trophy.”