THE BARMY ARMY: STRONGER THAN EVER

"PHIL TUFNELL IN PARTICULAR GOT A VERY HARD TIME."

The Barmy Army – like much of English cricket – has come a long way in 22 years. When the supporters club was first formed, by a group of disillusioned fans on England’s grim Ashes tour of 1994/95, their cheery spontaneity took the old suits aback.

Paul Burnham, co-founder and managing director of the Barmy Army, was there right at the start. “We were amazed at the support put up by the Aussies, and slightly taken aback by their brashness. Phil Tufnell in particular got a very hard time. Some of it was quite serious abuse; physical stuff that we’re not used to in English cricket. So we decided to fight back through the old British traditions of wit and drinking: we formed the BarmyArmy at the fourth Test in Adelaide.”

The group has become such a valuable part of tough overseas assignments that the Barmies are frequently referred to as England’s 12th man. The likes of Jonathan Agnew and Telegraph cricket correspondent Scyld Berry have praised their support; Aggers even performed the sprinkler dance in front of the Barmies on the outfield at the MCG. Few doubt that they played a role in England winning the2010/11 Ashes so handsomely.

“After all those defeats in Australia, that tour was the high point for most Barmies,” says Burnham. “I’ve told my wife that Boxing Day 2010 at the MCG was the greatest day of my life. And she actually understands.”

There is also the realisation, due to the relative economic power of the UK, that the Barmies’ presence plays a role in supporting Test cricket in some of the poorer Test nations.

“Aside from the Australian venues, Barbados and Cape Town are the biggest draws,” says Burnham. “The West Indies is an iconic destination for us. St Kitts is one that’s on the up, and Grenada was interesting, as we hadn’t been there before. Sri Lanka tends to be the favourite place in the subcontinent, I think partly because of the spectacular setting at Galle, and also the shared island heritage. Lots of Barmies have made friends for life there.”

A subtle change is taking place under Andrew Strauss and Trevor Bayliss, who have placed a bigger emphasis on one-day international cricket. The upshot has been some of the best one-day cricket in England’s history. “Some of my worst moments with the Barmies has been watching England play one-day cricket,” admits Burnham. “In the past it has been terrible. All we’ve won is the Sharjah tournament in 1997. A lot of the rest has been pretty awful. But England are playing such brilliant, exciting one-day cricket now. Trevor Bayliss has been brought in to win the Champions Trophy or the World Cup.

“It means people are taking more of an interest in England’s ODI trips. For the first time we’ve sold out an ODI tour, to the West Indies next year. I think the future of these trips is the bolt-ons people can take. I’ve been to so many Sydney Tests, but never on the Harbour Bridge because it’s a five-day game that takes up so much time. But with ODIs, you can fit in cultural and touristy stuff around the cricket.”

There is added intrigue for England’s upcoming tour of India. For the pre-Christmas Test series, the BCCI has scheduled debut Tests for Rajkot and Visakhapatnam. “There is an element of box-ticking from our fans,” says Burnham. “They want to see new venues. So the India tour has attracted interest. A lot of independent-minded fans are attracted by that sort of thing. It’s a chance to see what no one else has.”

The Barmies have a charitable reach: they have raised money for, among others, the McGrath Foundation, the Broad Appeal for Motor Neurone Disease, Magic Bus, the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Trust, Leukaemia Research, Help for Heroes, Sri Lanka Tsunami Appeal, the Pakistan Earthquake Appeal, Soweto Township, Teenage Cancer Care, Chance to Shine, Durban AIDS orphanages, the Bali bombings, Chris Cairns Cancer Appeal and the Ben Hollioake Fund.

To find out more about the Barmy Army, visit http://www.barmyarmy.com/

If you’d like to support England as part of the Barmy Army in India, the West Indies or the Ashes in Australia next year, visit barmytravel.com or call 0845 867 5488