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| |  Sunday, 17 June, 2001, 18:53 GMT 19:53 UK Crowd trouble fuels fence fears  Players had to run for safety as fans invaded the pitch Former England coach David Lloyd has called for sanctions to be introduced to punish spectators who invade the pitch. He made the comments after what he described as a "mad stampede" at Headingly as England conceded the match to Pakistan. Steward Stephen Speight suffering from broken ribs and a damaged spleen as hundreds of Pakistan fans charged onto the pitch with their team needing two runs to win in the one-day international against England. Mr Speight was left lying injured on the ground as players and umpires ran for the safety of the dressing room. It is the second time in the NatWest series that unruly supporters have forced the abandonment of an unfinished match. Inexcusable The first pitch invasion took place in England's first match against Pakistan at Edgbaston on 7 June. After that occasion the cricket authorities said they would look into measures to prevent it happening again, but it could not stop the scenes at Headingly. "You could see it coming. All the spectators were over the boards and not many people were there to stop them," said Lloyd.
"It's just a stampede to pinch the stumps and the bails and it's happened during the game which is inexcusable. "All you have to do is read the scoreboard to know when the game has ended. Lloyd fears the invasions may lead to fences being erected at venues. But he favours the system adopted in Australia where people are arrested and fined for entering the playing arena. "There will probably now be a clamour for perimeter fencing in this country. "It shouldn't happen because there is never a problem against Australia. "In Australia no one goes on the pitch. It's a �3,700 fine.
"In other places around the world there is a massive deterrent with police and guard dogs ringing the pitch and the dogs are thinking `go ahead make my day'." Former England captain David Gower added to the debate, saying: "In Australia once you've gone on the ground they dump you in cell for the night and take you to court in the morning. "Here we had a number of stewards but not enough to prevent a crowd like this from getting on." England captain Alec Stewart branded the scenes "a sad day for English cricket" and demanded more protection for players. He was forced to concede defeat to Pakistan because he felt it was unsafe for the players to go back out onto the pitch.
"We were disappointed with the scenes at Edgbaston and it's happened again," he said. "We were going to lose anyway but this makes it a very sad day for English cricket." Pakistan captain Waqar Younis echoed his sentiments, adding: "I was sad at the end they way it finished. "We have got to do something about the security. Something should be done. "I can't think much about it at the moment but something should be done." The matter will be on the agenda when ECB chief executive Tim Lamb meets his Australian counterpart Malcolm Speed on Monday. | |
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