Pitch Invasions

There have been much fewer pitch invasions in International cricket over the past 5-6 years. When did they start to dwindle out? 2001?


Obviously for safety reasons, but how did they clamp down on them?


Also, are there any places in the world where pitch invasions still happen? (After a match has finished, obviously).

You used to be able to run onto the field at the Gabba ten years ago, and I think that was the only international venue you could back then.. I think they upped the penalties to a shitload of money or jail time. The AFL still allows it for milestones I think.

Just reading articles on cricinfo, and it seems they've been seriously clamping down on it in the UK since around 2003. A lot of discussion during an Old Trafford ODI against Pakistan where a further crowd invasion occured - much to the displeasure of the ECB who were going through the motions of making it illegal.

[This is Rachel]

There was the infamous Michael Bevan beer can incident at Lord's, during the post-match presentation of the NatWest Series Final between Australia and Pakistan in 2001. Ironically, it was a full can of beer, and given that the opposition fans are predominantly muslim, it was therefore almost certainly thrown up to Bevan in celebration by one of his team's own fans.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/3007772/Bevan-struck-by-beer-can.html

That stopped the tradition of allowing the crowd onto the ground (at Lord's, anyway) to watch the post-match presentation on the Pavilion balcony.

There were other incidents that Summer (http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/102990.html and, shockingly, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1393761.stm) which led to an agreement between the ground authorities and local police forces that any incursion would be viewed as trespass and a £1000 fine was introduced.

Although the authorities drum this fine into spectators several times a day (and particularly towards the end of the day), so far as I know, nobody has ever been prosecuted.

Other countries have followed suit, with additional pressure coming from players' associations, who voiced strong concerns over player safety.

Coud be a third-generation computer game.

"Pitch Invaders"

zap em with a stream of bouncers as they invade more and more of the square