Barmy Army Chants: The Sportsrush presents before you Top Five chants from England cricket supporters club.

No sport is complete without fans or supporters. These passionate bunch of people are the real stakeholders of any sport for it would be difficult for a sport to grow without them.

Right from watching a game in the stadium or in front of TV screens, a game cannot be practically run without the participation of audiences. While the sport gets a lot from its fans, the fans get an opportunity to watch their favourite athletes take part in a competitive battle of their favourite sport.

Over the years, several fan groups or supporters club have been formed in a bid to support their favourite teams or players. Talking specifically about cricket, England’s ‘Barmy Army’ remains one of the top supporters club which follow the England cricket team wherever they go.

The term ‘Barmy’ is an English slang for ‘mad’. The name was given by the Australian media to a group of supporters who had come all the way from England to Australia to watch The Ashes in 1994-95 (Australia won 3-1). The same was done for their passion for the English team as they had visited Australia despite the odds being against them.

Their transition saw them being converted into a limited company which also organizes tours and tickets whenever England play overseas.

 

Famously known for their chants, The Barmy Army has been seen several times reciting amazing chants in the support of their team or against the opposition. Given England’s fierce rivalry with Australia, most of their famous chants have when the two teams play against each other.

Top Five Barmy Army Chants of recent times

5) Kangaroo Song – The Barmy Army was seen reciting the ‘Kangaroo Song’ during the Boxing Day Test of Ashes 2017-18. With Australia having gain an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series, England had already lost the match.

The infamous highlight of the fourth Test was the match being played on a flat wicket, which was also compared to a ‘road’. The match had seen former England captain Alistair Cook scoring his 32nd Test century, a double ton at that.

Watch the full video below:

4) Barmy Army meet the Richies – Another incident which happened during the last Ashes was that of Barmy Army meeting the Richies. The adorable scenes were an epitome of the fact that even two opposing fan groups can be united by a sport, which is the best part about it.

Richies, named after former Australia captain Richie Benaud, were seen sharing a stand and some long-lasting memories with The Barmy Army during the first Test of the series at Brisbane. The then Australia captain Steven Smith’s 21st Test century (141*) had played a major role in Australia winning the match by 10 wickets.

Watch the full video below:

3) Take The Urn Home – Under the leadership of former England captain Andrew Strauss, England had comprehensively beat Australia 3-1 in Ashes 2010-11. Beating them in front of their home crowd was all the more satisfying for the English fans.

During the fifth Test at Sydney, which England ended up winning by an innings and 83 runs, the members of the Barmy Army sang the ‘Take The Urn Home’.

The chants of ‘With Strauss our captain we’ll take the urn home’  was heard throughout the SCG. Watch the full video below:

2) Mitchell Johnson Golden Duck – Another of those chants which gained instant acceptance from the fans was when former Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson was bowled by Chris Tremlett for a golden duck.

Just as former Australia wicket-keeper Brad Haddin (30) was out caught behind, there were shouts of ‘We want Mitch, We want Mitch’. Johnson, who was slated to come in at to bat at No. 6, came with the each member of the Barmy Army shouting against him.

Soon followed ‘He bowls to the left, He bowls to the right’ as Johnson was seen walking in to bat. Having scored 53 (66) in the first innings, Johnson was expected to provide some support to Steven Smith.

However, what followed was one of the most embarrassing moments of his career. With Johnson having no answer for Tremlett’s in-swinging delivery, he ended up walking back to the pavilion after a first-ball duck.

Watch the full video below:

1) Hey Hey Ricky – Arguably the best ever chant by the Barmy Army, ‘Hey Hey Ricky’ was an authentic music video which was made public before The Ashes 2009.

With England winning the last Ashes played at home (2005), there were singificant chances of the same happening for the visitors were not longer the formidable unit that they once were.

The song comprised of several references from Ashes 2005 with ‘Hey Hey Ricky, what you gonna do?, We’re taking back the Ashes, they don’t belong to you’ doing the rounds. As was mentioned in the song, England regained the Ashes by beating Australia 2-1.

Watch the full video below: