Recession hits Barmy Army’s travel plans for Ashes

MELBOURNE/LONDON - Global recession and weakening of the pound against the dollar is likely to reduce the number of England cricket fans travelling to Australia for the five test match Ashes Series starting Nov 25.

Cricket Australia (CA) is expecting a dip in the number of both British fans and members from the Barmy Army in comparison to the series contested down under between the arch-rivals four years ago. A total of 42,000 England fans visited Australia last time around where the home side defeated the Englishmen 5-0.

“We don’t expect the figure of 42,000 this time. The exchange rate has made it so much more expensive. But we still expect a sizable crowd especially from the colourful Barmy Army,” Cricket Australia Spokesman Paul Young told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Members of the famous Barmy Army also acknowledged the recession factor coming in between their love for the sport.

“One of the main song we sing is: We are fat, We are round, three dollars to the pound. We can’t sing that anymore,” Barmy Army spokesman Paul Burham told The Guardian.

However, Burham insisted that the demand for the tickets remained high in England as many sporting fans having left with ample amount of cash after their country’s early exit from the football world cup in South Africa.

“Quite a few people said that they would be to South Africa if their team reached the semi finals. If not they were saving it up for the ashes,” said Burham

CA said although the number of English fans will go down, still there be a substantial number of fans visiting their country for the most awaited test series of the year.