da wazamba： The ECB is considering moving post-match presentation ceremonies indoors following yesterday’s incident at Lord’s after the NatWest Series final
CricInfo24-Jun-2001The ECB is considering moving post-match presentation ceremonies indoors following yesterday’s incident at Lord’s after the NatWest Series final.Australian batsman Michael Bevan was struck on the cheek by a full beer can hurled from the crowd watching the presentation ceremony take place on the pavilion balcony.Bevan suffered only bruising, but the potential for a more serious incidentCould lead to the ECB moving all ceremonies during the forthcoming Ashes seriesindoors to prevent the occurrence of a possible “copycat” incident. Fans could then only watch the ceremonies on the giant screens at the grounds.The incident at Lord’s followed pitch invasions at Edgbaston and Headingley during the NatWest Series.”We’ll be having a full review of the NatWest tournament, which will includepresentation ceremonies,” explained Tim Lamb, chief executive of the ECB.”It’s too early to decide whether ceremonies should move inside closed doorsas the way forward, but we are certainly looking into it – it’s a shame everyoneshould suffer from the actions of one lunatic.”Lamb is hoping for a meeting with Sports Minister Richard Caborn and JohnDenham, the Minister of State at the Home Office, in the next week toinvestigate how English cricket can counter unruly crowds.Lamb said: “We don’t want to overreact here, but we have another situation when the players have again been made vulnerable and that should not happen.”We’ve never had a history of missile-throwing in English cricket and youcould say that one is too many and we are very concerned about what has beenhappening over the last few weeks.”If people see there are no effective sanctions at the moment, there could bea copycat incident. There are members of society who do look to take advantageof loopholes and make a name for themselves.”It is all a question of getting the balance right. We have to be able torely on people to behave properly but this is a social problem, not justcricket’s, and we have been caught up in a social issue.”He added: “I know the MCC and the police are studying television footage tosee if they can identify the idiot who did this and if that could be done, itwould be great if he was severely punished to send a message out to others thatthe penalties are severe for this sort of thing.”Australian team manager Steve Bernard is planning to meet Lamb during theirmatch at Arundel this week against the MCC when security issues will bediscussed for the Ashes series.But he has sympathy for the authorities, claiming: “The ECB have reacted asthings have evolved and the MCC put a lot of measures in place to avoid anydisturbances.”I feel sorry for the MCC and ECB because no one could have foreseen thatwould happen, but it has made us refocus a bit more about what has to bedone.”