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 Call for stricter security after invasion
Posted: Thursday April 22, 1999 10:13 AM
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Australian Cricketers Association president Tim May has called for improved security measures following the ground invasion at the end of Thursday's limited-overs match between Australia and the West Indies in Guyana. May said cricket authorities had a duty to monitor and maintain appropriate security measures to ensure players ar protected. Australian captain Steve Waugh, who was batting with Shane Warne when hundreds of fans ran onto the ground after the final ball, said he feared a Monica Seles-type stabbing after he was jostled by spectators. Seles, the former world No.1 women's tennis player, was stabbed by a spectator in between games during a match in Germany in 1993. Waugh was shoulder-charged, pushed and shoved and almost had his bat stolen when hundreds of Guyanese stormed onto the ground at the end of the match. May said the frightening incident highlighted the need for tougher security measures. "The risk to players and officials cannot be ignored and cricket authorities have a duty to monitor and maintain appropriate security measures to ensure adequate protection and safety at all times," May said. The game was declared a tie after all six stumps were stolen by ground invaders, making it impossible for the West Indian bowler Keith Arthurton to run out the Australians as they scrambled between wickets on the last ball. Former Australian captain Mark Taylor said barbed wire fences could be used at West Indies cricket grounds. "It's not the first time it has happened at that venue," Taylor said. "You might need bigger fences, and barbed wire on top of the fence, which is really disappointing. "The crowd likes getting close to the players. They like having an unobstructed view of the game. But those sorts of invasions are going to put paid to that." Taylor said he did not think the players were in any danger. "I think you'll find that 99.99 percent of those people were just dying to get out there to touch a player," Taylor said in Sydney. "They didn't want to hurt anyone. It's just disappointing that it happens." However Waugh suffered whiplash to his neck in the melee, and said he was threatened "a hundred times," adding: "It doesn't get any scarier than that on the sporting field." Taylor said the pitch invasions in Guyana marred a great game of cricket but the final result was probably a fair one. "The Australians could consider themselves a little bit lucky," Taylor said. "The best they could really hope for off the last ball was two runs. "But with a pitch invasion as the last ball was being played out, it would have been very unsatisfactory to have either side lose or win by a run. It was probably a fair call that it ended up a tie."
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