MELBOURNE: “You see that blue stand over there, they are the most notorious lot. Expect a lot of noise and distraction coming from there,” says the lone security guard manning the boundary rope on a day where only public tours of the Melbourne Cricket Ground were happening.
He was pointing towards the six blocks of seating near the Shane Warne End when he cautioned about the madness which is expected to unfold on opening day of the Boxing Day Test between India and Australia on December 26. Close to 1,00,000 people are expected to be in the stands for the sold-out day and the security team has beefed up the man power for the most sought-after cricket fixture of the Australian home summer.
For a regular game, there are only 10 security guards near the ropes but the count will swell to 14-15 from coming Thursday. Every block generally has 15 security guards who switch duties between the gates and stands but that count has increased to 20. Ten guards would now be stationed on the gates of every block while 10 will be in the stands to ensure there is order for what promises to be a loud morning.
“They just come and drink. That loud bunch in those blue blocks. Beer just flows and expect the beer glass towers to get taller as the game progresses. There would be some who would even be chucked out of the venue for creating ruckus, we are prepared for that. It’s sad they don’t want to enjoy cricket and then end up losing money which was spent on tickets,” adds the guard.
He wasn’t there when Virat Kohli hit that memorable six off Harris Rauf in the 2022 T20 World Cup fixture versus Pakistan but says, with a lot of conviction, even that can’t match the madness which happens during a Australian Football League fixture at the venue.
“I know people are crazy about cricket but madness is unreal during a AFL game here. It even gets violent between fans during the game and I am sure this Boxing Day cricket match will not be that,” he explains with a chuckle.
Marketplaces buzzing
With the tickets sold out, different marketplaces are abuzz with resellers looking to make a quick buck on the resale of tickets. The premium is not as steep as it was for the India-Pakistan game back in 2022 but the sellers are comfortably making over 50 AUD on every ticket.
There are multiple groups on Facebook which have a lot of members from the Asian community and they are happy to shell out the extra dollars to watch the game from the stands.
“A ticket which was say for 30 AUD is now easily selling at 80 or even 100 AUD. Recently some tickets were released again and they were for over 150 AUD. Within no time they were sold out too. It’s proper madness for this game,” says a part-time cab driver who works in a IT firm as a software developer.
The festivities have already begun in Melbourne, well before the Test, and are expected to continue till the New Year. For the security personnel, however, there will be very little breather because someone has to maintain order in the madness which is expected to hit the MCG.
