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From the official South Africa Series Program (Yiza Summer)......

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If anyone has any copyright complaints about anything on this page please let us know and we will remove the story. PS Why can't the Jurno's spell they aught to know by now that we are different! Where is the E in WavEy?

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From Wisden (Andrews in the Navy!)

Army v Navy

Roving Reporter by Andrew Miller at Galle

December 5, 2003

Jimmy Saville (the England-supporting doppelganger, that is, as opposed to the cigar-chewing pop impresario) is not his usual self today. As the self-appointed cheerleader of the Barmy Army, Jimmy is usually to be found leading a can-can around the boundary edge, with a red rose pinned to his Dr Seuss funnel hat, and a large St George's cross fluttering behind him. But not at the moment. Something is seriously amiss.

Jimmy's chirpy – and rather grubby – mascot, Tweetie-Pie, is also looking as though Sylvester's got his beak. The pair are slumped in the tent at midwicket, watching and waiting for the rain to stop falling. It is a melancholy sight, and one that has even been picked up on by the England captain himself. "As Vaughny was leading the boys out this morning, he called out to me: `What's happened, Jimmy? I can't hear you!' I appreciated that. He's a good man, is Mike."

What has happened seems trivial by all accounts, but it has clearly touched a nerve. For up on the hill, Jimmy's usual stamping ground, a coup de corps has taken place. Where the Barmy Army once reigned supreme, a group of about 20 England fans have sailed in on the Monsoon floodwaters. These men are calling themselves the Wavy Navy, and it's all got rather serious.

You wouldn't believe it to watch them in action. "I'm a little teapot," bellows a chap in a pink hat, who later transpires to be the Rear Admiral. "Tip me up, and pour me out," conclude the crew, after a frenetic attempt to recall all the moves to their favourite nursery rhyme. Their repertoire is limited but enthusiastic. "We've only got six songs!" they chant, before breaking into their signature tune, which is embellished with a rather mincy, maritime swish of the wrists.

Jimmy is not impressed. "I've seen it all before," he says. "Why is it necessary to form these splinter groups? I've only come here to support England and have a bit of a sing-song." But this afternoon, he's all sung out. "There's only so much power in my lungs," he explains. "I'd rather not waste it trying to chant over the top of them."

The Navy, understandably, are in a rather more bullish mood. "This tour was dying on its feet until we rocked up!" announces one crew member, although the Rear Admiral himself is more conciliatory. "We're not here to upset anyone or cause any trouble," he says. "But the Barmy Army are so commercialised these days, we simply fancied doing it differently." The T-shirts are being printed as we speak...

Matters came to a head on Thursday afternoon, when the rival services took part in a sing-out on the hill. "It was great," says a chap from Dulwich. "There was a fantastic exchange of sharp banter going on all afternoon." His colleagues approve of his turn of phrase. "Yeah, sharp banter! That's exactly what we're here for."

It is all rather harmless. As the rain continues to fall, I leave the Navy in mid-haka, and head off to see some of the other sights of Galle. Just over the road from the stadium, through a makeshift carpark and across a butterfly bridge that links the fort spithead to the main body of the town, there is a rather run-down collection of trees and fountains called Dharmapala Park.

It is mid-afternoon, and as far as the eye can see, the park has been taken up by courting couples. They sit entwined on benches and riverbanks, or prop themselves up against tree-trunks and statues, with an array of umbrellas protecting their heads and their modesty. Perhaps England's bickering supporters ought to come for a stroll through these grounds before the game is over. It would be the perfect opportunity to kiss and make up.

Andrew Miller, Wisden Cricinfo's assistant editor, is accompanying England on their travels throughout Sri Lanka.

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Trouble in the ranks as the Barmy Army chases dollars

December 14, 2003
The Sun-Herald

Forget Nasser Hussain's alleged abuse of Muttiah Muralitharan, the real drama in Sri Lanka is taking place within the ranks of the Barmy Army, with the battalion's increasingly commercial direction angering England fans. Our operative on the subcontinent tells us a rival group has formed, with the focus back on beer-swilling, larynx-stretching antics. The Wavy Navy claim the Barmy Army have sold out by endorsing high-priced cricket tours and souvenirs

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Not sure about joining forces but from the BBC:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/3298801.stm

Army and Navy join forces

By Phil Long
Our man with the Barmy Army in Sri Lanka

There were some dark mutterings throughout the Galle Test about the great West Indies ticket rip-off.

But nobody, rich or poor, could have any complaints about the value served up in the first Test in Galle.

One option was to splash out on a five-day ticket for 6,000 rupees (about £37) and enjoy the shade, a plastic seat as well as a glimpse at a TV screen.

Of course, for much of the backpacking fraternity in the Barmy Army, that is still quite a bit of cash so it was onto the grass bank and under the blazing sun for most of us.

At just 20 rupees (13p) no one could have any complaints about the prices here as, in between the showers, an intriguing Test match twisted and turned in front of us.

However, once again, the antics on the hill at Galle seem to have attracted more than their fair share of headlines as England salvaged their unlikely draw.

As well as our lot, there was a new all-singing, all-dancing group of fans sailing under the banner of the Wavy Navy.

For some reason, various parts of the press were dizzy with talk of a split among the English supporters on the terraces.

There were only about 12 or so of them on the grass bank but, after copious amounts of beer and more than the odd shot of the local tipple Arrack, they certainly made enough noise for a fleet of fans.

After the cricket each day The Navy moved on to the Sydney Hotel - a local Sri Lankan pub - across the road from the ground.

There they drank more Lion beer and more Arrack while reeling off their favourite "sea-shanties".

It was a great achievement by the majority of the crew to sail through the Test match after so much booze.

But will their rum ration run dry by the time the Test series docks at Colombo?

With Galle Fort dominating the skyline at one end of the ground it was not long before the real "cheapos" of the Barmy Army stormed up the turret for a free view.

It may take a bit of a scramble to get onto the ramparts but once there it is a fantastic view of the game unfolding below.

I had been sweating it out on the hill for most of the Test.

But in the end the breeze blowing through the flags on the turrets was too much to resist.

It may have been breezy up there but on that final afternoon the 200 or so England fans on the Fort were still working up a sweat cheering the boys towards a draw.

A group of lads from Stockport mistook yet another call for drinks from Gilo and Johnno.

They thought the umpires were offering the light, and therefore salvation, and bursting into a blast of "The Great Escape".

Just as well we did manage to save the Test half an hour later - it was a long, long way down!

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From Reuters:

Indeed, the only sign of discord seems to be a minor mutiny in the ranks, with a breakaway group that has dubbed itself the "Wavy Navy" aiming to out-sing the Barmy Army.

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David Hopps in Galle
Friday December 5, 2003
The Guardian

Whether you joined the souvenir sellers and bemused German backpackers to watch him in miniature from the top of the old Dutch fort, studied the TV replays

in the media centre, or joined the Barmy Army and their new rivals, the Wavy Navy, as they flaked out in the tropical heat, the truth was unavoidable - Galle is designed for Muttiah Muralitharan.

and

Batty is making an impression off the field too. "We like Mark Butcher, but we like Gareth Batty more," reads a line in the constitution of the Wavy Navy, an embryonic rival to the Barmy Army.

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Daily Mirror

ASH: NOW IT'S MY TURN

Eight-wicket Giles defies the heat and critics

By Mike Walters

DISSIDENT England fans have formed a splinter group to rival the Barmy Army called the Wavy Navy.

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Trouble in the ranks as the Barmy Army chases dollars

December 14, 2003 The Sun-Herald

December 14, 2003
The Sun-Herald