10 August,2009 07:40 AM IST | | Khalid A-H Ansari
The England batsmen were well and truly mauled by the Australian pace attack in the fourth Ashes Test at Headingley but a group of fans from Down Under is claiming credit for the home batsmen's collapse on the first day.
As reported in KHALIDOSCOPE in SUNDAY MID DAY yesterday, a group of supporters, which calls itself the Fanatics and follows the team around the world, is claiming they set off the fire alarm at the Radisson Hotel in Leeds, where the England team is staying.
At 4:30 on the morning of the first day of the Test last Friday, the England Test team was evacuated from its hotel after the fire alarm went off.
Players were left standing in the street in rain in their pyjamas for more than 20 wickets while the Yorkshire Fire Service searched the premises for the cause of the alarm.
Owning up
Warren Livingston, head of the Fanatics, told Sydney's The Sunday Telegraph newspaper that one of its 100-strong group had managed to set off the alarm with the intention of disturbing the England team's sleep before commencement of the Test.
He described it as "good old fashioned Aussie high-jinks".u00a0
"Yes it was one of our guys who did it as a bit of a prank. I got a text message after it happened," Livingston said.
"At first I thought 'good onya', we're just doing our bit for Australia. But I can't condone this sort of thing. I don't want any trouble. We've all had a big laugh and it might have made a difference the way they batted."
England were bowled out for a mere 102 after winning the toss on the first day.
Inside story
However, as reported in this column yesterday, Britain's Sun newspaper says the alarm may have been triggered by a woman hotel guest, who rinsed her undergarments in the bathroom sink and left them close to a light bulb to dry.
The underwear reportedly began to smoulder, filling the room with smoke and causing the woman to throw them back in the sink but not before the fire alarm went off.
A hotel employee told the newspaper: "It appears a lady had done some washing and had fallen asleep, leaving her undies too near a light. They caught fire and when she tried to put them out it caused so much smoke thealarms went off.
"Even if she's not a cricket fan I'm sure by now the lady realises what she's done u00e2u0080u0093 spoiling our lads' sleep before the Fourth Test."
England wicketkeeper Matt Prior was not amused and blamed the incident for the team's batting collapse.
"I don't know how long we were outside the hotel.
"I think I was sleepwalking. It wasn't ideal. I think anyone would be slightly miffed at 5 am standing in the rain with no shoes on. It's not an excuse, but there were a few grumpy people around complaining they had woken up at 5 am."
Praising the Fanatics as "usually committed to responsible behaviour", a spokesman for Cricket Australia said they were not aware of the incident.
However, he said: "If it is shown to be the result of inappropriate behaviour by members of the public, we would not condone that at all."
Source: The Sunday Telegraph
