Sport is a fine arena to watch truisms develop in real time. Take this: one side of a cricket ground in Birmingham gets more rowdy than other venues. People start to reference it, so others pay it more attention. People who hear about it want to get involved. They dress up and come down and are paid more attention in turn. In time the Eric Hollies Stand is known not as a place but a phenomenon. So the legend feeds itself, getting high on its own supply.
After a few wins at Edgbaston against Australia, the legend has grown. English cricket is exceedingly keen to have a mythological reference point to rival the Gabba for Australia: a fortress, a name to make visiting teams quail. Of course, many people refer to Birmingham as the Brisbane of the North; or that’s what I would write if newspapers had a sarcasm font. The fortress comparison doesn’t stack up either: a decade unbeaten at Edgbaston for England, three decades for Australia at the Gabba.
The Hollies, though, does inject life and energy into Test cricket in its own way. Wander down there on the opening day of the Ashes, and even before the hundreds of man-hours spent queuing at the bars have had their full effect, the atmosphere is febrile.
The costumes are loud, flags draped, masks and banners waved. The usual songs ring out but it’s not just Barmy Army stalwarts. David Warner and Cameron Bancroft are almost carried aloft to the crease on a wave of jeers. When Stuart Broad gets each of them out there is a detonation of sound. With each wicket the departing batsman gets a rousing swell of “cheerio, cheerio, cheerio”.
Dotted among the union jacks and techno-Hawaiian prints and horse costumes are occasional blotches of bright yellow, not of security stewards but Australian shirts. Of all the gin joints in all the world, what brings a parochial cricket fan from that side of the world into these heaving depths?
Shane looks at his friend Mikkel and laughs broadly. “We turned 40 this year and got two weeks to come over to the cricket. So we went in the ballot and these were the tickets we were allocated. We had no idea. I’d never even heard of the Eric Hollies Stand until today.”
By this point Australia were four down with England swarming. “All the cricket I’ve been to, nothing compares to the atmosphere at this. It’s worth it, even though we’re being pumped. I find myself singing along now. It’s fantastic, we’ll always remember it. It’s hostile but it’s not personal or anything.”
Soon afterwards, the Australia captain, Tim Paine, hooks Broad to a catch at deep midwicket, right in front of the Hollies. The day before he had brushed off a question about whether the ground was intimidating, saying he could think of about 15 others. The response to his exit could definitely be described as hostile.
Amy and her husband, draped in various kangaroos and flags and covered in insignia, landed here by accident too. “Greg’s 50th birthday is coming up and these were the tickets that we got. I had no idea. We were a little intimidated but everyone’s so nice and it’s all in good fun.”
Andrew was having a ball, draped in a singlet and XXXX hat that paid homage to his upbringing in Townsville, and attending with his English friend Charlie in similar kit. “We had a bet from the previous Ashes that whoever wins it, you have to dress in their attire next time. I would have been in a tweed suit, but he’s here in a bluey and board shorts and a pair of double pluggers.” British readers, feel free to Google Translate that.
“We bought eight beach balls off Amazon, we’ve already left half of them go,” said Andrew, who had just covered a St George’s Cross from Polesworth with a boxing kangaroo. “This is my first Ashes anywhere. I bought tickets in November last year. To be in England, at the Ashes – oh, mate. I’m coming again tomorrow.”
Rohit, an obvious superfan wearing the new Australian one-day kit, picked his tickets deliberately. “It’s like Bay 13 at the MCG, good atmosphere. We thought we’d be giving stick back to the Poms, unfortunately we’re at the receiving end. The Hollies Stand is known to be one of the rowdiest stands in the world, and what attracted me to it was that when the English give us shit, they do it in a melodious way, they have great voices, and I wanted to be part of that.”