da cassino： MELBOURNE – The Melbourne Cricket Ground is rated as one of the world’sworst three venues for crowd trouble and this shameful standing hasjeopardised future one-day matches there.
Adam Cooper and Brent Read11-Dec-2002MELBOURNE – The Melbourne Cricket Ground is rated as one of the world’sworst three venues for crowd trouble and this shameful standing hasjeopardised future one-day matches there.But Shane Warne – the MCG’s favourite son – believes the Melbourne crowdsupports Australia with gusto and is far from the world’s worst.Australian Cricket Board (ACB) chief executive James Sutherland todaysaid the MCG was rated by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as oneof the worst three for interruptions in play, trespassing and poor crowdbehaviour.The ACB, police and the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) have urged fans tobehave at Sunday’s tri-series match between Australia and England aftermore than 30 fans were arrested and almost 500 ejected from matchesthere last summer.But Warne, who in 1999 walked onto the arena in thongs and shorts tourge fans to stop pelting English fielders with missiles, said the MCGmasses would be fine.”I don’t think the Victorian crowds are the worst in the world,definitely not,” Warne said.”I think the Victorian crowd and the MCG crowd are absolutelysensational. I think they get right behind Australia.”I think there’s one or two people all over the world, let alone inMelbourne, who take it over the top but as far as we’re concerned wejust want to worry about playing cricket on the field and hopefully thespectators come to watch some entertaining cricket.”The latest plea for good behaviour comes as the ICC considers banningtroublesome grounds from hosting one-dayers.”It’s pretty clear from the International Cricket Council’s point ofview that the MCG is in the worst three grounds in the world for crowdbehaviour based on the record in the last few years,” Sutherland said.”There is no doubt that the ICC have taken a much stronger view of poorcrowd behaviour and they will shortly be introducing the powers to bangrounds where they don’t meet the standards or they have a record thathas been inferior to the required standards in the past.”Hooligans will be on notice on Sunday with an increased police presenceearlier than on previous match-days.Patrons can expect thorough bag searches, tougher alcohol restrictionsand more dry areas and automatic ejection for throwing missiles.Warne said the MCG’s size meant there was a greater chance ofmisbehaviour, but he was confident of a good show on Sunday.”I am sure they will be fine,” he said.”One or two occasions, you look around the world, the West Indies have(people) running on the field.”In Australia, one or two people in the crowd, hopefully they don’tspoil it for everyone.”Cricket Victoria chief executive Ken Jacobs said stripping Melbourne ofits one-day internationals would have a disastrous affect on cricket’sgrassroots.”To lose the revenue streams obviously would have a big impact on thegame,” Jacobs said.Sutherland said the ICC’s list of troublesome grounds also included twoin India, where the recent India-West Indies series was marred bymissile-throwing, with one match in Rajkot abandoned after West Indianfielders were pelted with plastic water bottles.