Will there be England fans at the Ashes? Brisbane Barmies out to fill void in wake of travel restrictions

Will Mapcherson7 December 2021

On recent Ashes tours, as many as 30,000 England fans have made the trip Down Under. This time, it is very different.

Due to Covid regulations, Australia is a difficult place for foreigners to enter, with Queensland – location of the First Test at the Gabba in Brisbane even more difficult to get into.

There will be next to no travelling fans from England for the whole tour (perhaps a handful with Australian partners or passports). England will have to rely on a handful of expats for support. There is some freedom of movement between South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales, where the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Tests take place, but little for Queensland. The Barmy Army are locked out.

Enter the Brisbane Barmies. They have the run of Blocks 227, 228 and 229 at the Gabba, will be setting up base at the Pig and Whistle and Pineapple pubs, and looking to get behind England in a stadium they have not won at since 1986 and an environment Joe Root expects to be “hostile”.

The Brisbane Barmies were inspired by a trip to the Adelaide Test of 2013/14, where George Gallantree – a Brit who has lived in Brisbane for 15 years (since visiting for the 200/07 whitewash), and is married to a Queenslander – was inspired by the South Australian branch of the England supporters’ group.

There are supporter groups made up of expats across Australia, and England can expect particularly good support in Melbourne and Sydney later in the tour, whether the individuals identify as Barmy Army or not.

After “stealing the idea” of their Adelaide counterparts, the Brisbane Barmies now have 800 members and have sold 1,300 tickets to the First Test. They have sourced an English trumpeter.

“We try to mirror the ethos of the Barmy Army,” he says. “We will be singing and getting behind the team. But we don’t sing football songs, and we don’t want to sing about the Second World War.”

As well as going to the Gabba to support Joe Root’s men, the Brisbane Barmies will look to raise money for charities, both locally and linked to English cricket more widely. On Sunday, they hosted a charity T20 against the Australian supporters’ group The Richies, in aid of the Ruth Strauss Foundation, with England players donating signed shirts to be auctioned.

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