Barmy Army

The Barmy Army chanting at the Sydney Cricket Ground

The Barmy Army is a group of British cricket fans known for supporting the English cricket team in both domestic and international matches.

The Barmy Army was at first an informal group but was later turned into a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales. The name is also applied to followers of the team who join in with match day activities in the crowd, but do not necessarily travel as part of an organised tour. Collins dictionary defines the word barmy as "slightly crazy or very foolish". They are known for their song that goes "Barmy Army shout it out come on England".

The group, then less organised, was given its name by the Australian media during the 1994–95 Test series in Australia, reportedly for the fans' hopeless audacity in travelling all the way to Australia in the near-certain knowledge that their team would lose, and the fact that they kept on chanting encouragement to the England team even when England were losing quite badly.[1][2] It was co-founded by Paul Burnham.[3]

  1. ^ Crass and corporate - why the Barmy Army are no laughing matter, The Guardian, 1 December 2006
  2. ^ Dominic Lawson: Fight back against the Barmy Army, The Independent, 5 December 2006
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference itn was invoked but never defined (see the help page).