Using a hammer to crack a few nuts

Simon O'Hagan hears rumblings of discontent among The Oval crowd

It is rare to have such a vibrant atmosphere at an England home match as was created at The Oval yesterday, at least until the interruption for rain and bad light in the late afternoon.

Credit-card booking and the gradual takeover of sponsors have been blamed for turning attendance at international cricket into a much more sanitised day out than it used to be, but the presence of large numbers of Indian followers was a welcome reminder that cricket is still a people's game, and that two sets of supporters are better than one.

Unfortunately, that is not how the authorities see it, and you did not have to spend very much time in among the more involved members of the crowd to hear complaints that got to the nub of the vexed issue of how to steward groups of spectators without impairing their right to a good time.

The noisiest section of the ground was in the seating on the western side, opposite the old gasometer. What was noticeable here was the extent to which, even as the beer flowed, rival supporters intermingled in apparent harmony, exchanging banter and generally intent on enjoying themselves without recourse to abusiveness or aggression.

However, all the spectators I spoke to complained of the way they had been treated by stewards and police. "The attitude's been heavy-handed to say the least," said Ian Gregory from Southampton. "No one has been causing offence. Yet you have a situation in which the police have come in and thrown someone out without it really being justified. If people are making a bit too much noise, all it needs is for a steward to come over and have a quiet word about it."

Other spectators complained that they were prevented from flying flags. The Test and County Cricket Board ruling that prohibits such expressions of support is of course well intentioned, and nobody wants to see a repetition of the sort of crowd trouble that scarred the Pakistan tour of 1987. None the less, something valuable is lost if a crowd's natural exuberance is stamped on.

There was also widely held resentment at stewards who allegedly told spectators to sit down because they were blocking a sponsor's advertisement at the back of the stand. "We feel that's a bit strong," one said. "I've paid pounds 27 to come here today. Why should I have to sit down just for that? The atmosphere is very good-humoured. Everyone's been enjoying the cricket hugely, and it's been self-policing in that if someone has got a bit over- excited he's been told to calm down by people around him and that's been that." An India supporter, Vijay Thakrar from Harrow, said: "We've paid for the cricket not the adverts."

A Surrey spokeswoman rejected the complaint. "All our stewards are implementing rulings laid down by the TCCB," she said. "There were people standing on seats, and that can be dangerous. We've asked them to sit down for their own safety."