Walk into any public house in the world and ask the question: “Who here can tell me about the Barmy Army?” and the answers will vary to a degree but will likely be along the lines of: “A bunch of Poms who like to drink beer, sing songs and watch
The Barmy Army: Breaking down the misconceptions of one of sport’s biggest global brands
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From the Ashes
The first day of the 1994–95 Ashes series in Adelaide is described as the catalyst for the formation of what today is known as the Barmy Army. A group of English supporters went to a T-shirt store near the ground during the lunch break and purchased 50 shirts saying “Atherton’s Barmy Army” (after then-captain Michael Atherton) with the Union Jack emblazoned on the back. By the conclusion of the test, more than 200 shirts had been purchased. By the end of the tour, 3000 had been purchased.
Thirty years later and the Barmy Army is now a limited company with an in-house travel arm, 3 million social media followers, 40,000 members and 18 full-time employees.
Upon starting work at the Barmy Army, Millard says he could immediately see the untapped brand potential the organisation was failing to take full advantage of.
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“One thing that we saw when we saw the Barmy Army and the opportunities with it was that there’s an incredible brand with it – it’s in the Oxford Dictionary, it’s known worldwide.
“At the time [in 2015], behind it there wasn’t a very strong business so first of all rebuilding the membership and the following, the database was crucial and then since then we’ve wrapped around the in-house travel company, the merchandise team. We’ve got quite a big team of content and marketing people.
“We’ve gone from what was very much a lifestyle business that three guys started in 94 to scaling to an operation.”
‘Our biggest challenge’
Millard says that progression remains a challenge to this day, with many international and domestic fans seeing the Barmy Army as a rag-tag group of cricket fans – a perception which he says couldn’t be further from the truth.
The Barmy Army are essentially now a travel company, organising tours to every corner of the cricketing globe for thousands of fans.
“A lot of people still think it’s a bunch of guys that get together that happen to be able to arrange these amazing tours for thousands of people and the trumpet player comes along who just loves it and pays for himself everywhere, which couldn’t be further from the truth.”
Once Millard begins to explain the amount of preparation required to organise international tours around the world, that misconception begins to erode rapidly.
As early as two or three years out from the official announcement of an overseas tour, the Barmy Army’s network puts wheels in motion.
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“Even when it’s two, three years away we’ll have an initial conversation with people that we know on the ground ... we have conversations with them about rooms, capacity, transfers and a lot goes into the logistics of moving people around, particularly when you’ve got two islands to deal with [like you do in New Zealand].”
Depending on the tour’s location, basic planning can commence about 10 months out from the tour. Millard credits New Zealand Cricket as being one of the more “forward-thinking” governing bodies that releases fixtures well in advance – an “absolute dream” compared to the likes of India or Pakistan which are destinations prone to late schedule changes.
The establishment opens its doors
A clear indicator that the Barmy Army have reached mainstream appeal was a ticket allocation by the England Cricket Board for the Lord’s test against Sri Lanka in August, the first time an official allocation has been given to any organised group.
“I guess it was the establishment opening their doors to the Barmy Army for the first time, which is to a lot of people I know unbelievable that it’s taken so long, but we’re privileged to have that allocation,” says Millard.
Millard says this is another milestone in his and his team’s work toward breaking down the common misconceptions of the Barmy Army.
“We’re cricket fans that would go to Lord’s anyway, but giving us that allocation together is good for the game and I know the players support that and are massive fans of us having an allocation.
“Having people that underwrite the game recognising the value that we bring over a few songs in the stands, which is a fraction of what we do and is only a fraction of our following, having key people recognise what we do has always been crucial and I feel like we’ve finally broken that misconception and we are recognised as a real player within the cricketing space.”
An ‘experience’ company
Cricket aside, the Barmy Army’s business plan brings in selling the destination of tours and Millard says New Zealand is a prime example of the marriage between sport and culture.
“It’s all part of it, the cricket, obviously, is the thing that brings everyone together, it’s the driving force, it’s the community ... however I’d be lying if I didn’t say the destination sells it because of course [you’re going to] Christchurch, one of the most beautiful places in the world. We haven’t been for a while.”
Expatriates have become a key demographic for the Barmy Army. In particular, destinations like the West Indies or Pakistan have become popular in recent years with many in the UK wanting to experience the place of their parents or their own birth.
“I have a couple of mates who were born in England that have Pakistani parents. They were really interested in coming on the tour with us. That cultural experience of going over to Pakistan supporting England but getting to see the country where their parents are from is something that we are actively looking to do a better job of, but is something over the last five years that there’s been a lot of interest in.”
That has led to a rapid diversification of Barmy Army members, Millard says.
“‘We’ve definitely diversified the Barmy Army. Significantly.”
Hagley Oval or Melbourne Cricket Ground?
The Barmy Army have represented English cricket support at the pantheons of cricket; Narendra Modi Stadium in India, the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia, South Africa’s Wanderers Stadium and of course the home of cricket, Lord’s.
New Zealand’s premier cricket grounds of Hagley Oval and the Basin Reserve (ordered depending on which island you call home) are more boutique than their overseas counterparts but, as venues for watching and enjoying cricket, Millard says Aotearoa’s grounds are held dear to the hearts of Barmy Army members.
“If you asked our members, they would put those smaller grounds that are grassed banks, that are more community feel, far and above the MCG.
“I mean the MCG for Boxing Day if you’re there, it’s a bucket list item and people really enjoy it. But to watch four or five days of high-quality test cricket? Give me a grass bank and a Pals any day of the week.”
England tour of New Zealand
First test - Christchurch, December 28 - November 2
Second test - Wellington, December 6-10
Third test - Hamilton, December 14-18
The Alternative Commentary Collective is covering every home Black Caps this summer. Listen to live commentary here.
Will Toogood is an online sports editor and golf reporter for the NZ Herald. He enjoys watching people chase a ball around on a grass surface so much he decided to make a living out of it.
