England versus Australia with the WELSH anthem!

[Beorn]

It's enough to leave you stumped... England versus Australia with the WELSH anthem!

It is a sporting ritual usually performed with patriotic chests puffed out, eyes moist and vocal cords stretched to the maximum.
But when the national anthem is played before England's cricketers take on the Australians tomorrow, don't expect any of our chaps to sing along.

Mainly because the words won't be in English.

For rather than playing God Save The Queen, the sport's blazered bigwigs have decided the ground will reverberate instead to the Welsh national anthem.

Land Of My Fathers will be sung before play starts in Cardiff in an attempt to get the mainly Welsh crowd behind the England team in the first Test match in the Ashes series.
It is part of a charm offensive aimed at the Welsh by cricketing chiefs who feared they would lose 'home advantage' by not staging the match in England - and might even have local supporters cheering Australia.

Welsh soprano Katherine Jenkins, who regularly sings before the national rugby team plays at the nearby Millennium Stadium, has been brought in to perform the anthem. Australia will hear their traditional Advance Australia Fair.

Although the governing body is officially the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), the team will not be singing - to prevent an embarrassing repeat of the spectacle of former Conservative Welsh Secretary John Redwood trying to mime the anthem at a public event in 1993.

None of the current squad was born and bred in Wales, and only batsman Alastair Cook - whose mother comes from Swansea - has any close Welsh ancestry.

Singing national anthems before play is a relatively new phenomenon in cricket. Jerusalem was played once in the 2005 Ashes series after it became a favourite with supporters.

The decision to play the Welsh anthem has angered traditionalists, who are already annoyed about the match being the first Ashes Test to be played outside England or Australia.

An ECB source said: 'The players are fine about the Welsh national anthem, although nobody knows the words to it and won't be singing. They feel it's just not cricket singing anthems generally, but they're happy to do anything that gets the crowd behind them and silence the Australian supporters.

'But they're angry about the first test being played in Cardiff and feel that they're losing the advantage. A lot of the players wanted it to be played at Lord's or the Oval.

'They feel that the decision to play in Cardiff could give the Aussies an advantage and spur them on during the series. Hopefully the Welsh will be pleased with the choice of anthem and really give them a lift.'

Cardiff was controversially chosen ahead of Manchester for the match. The Swalec Stadium underwent a £9.5million redevelopment that boosted capacity from 5,500 to 15,643 for the Test.

Anthems will not be played at the start of the other four Ashes fixtures this year at grounds in England.

Source

Imagine if this had been the Welsh team being told they would be introduced by the English anthem?

I can bet the course of action would have gone like this:

1) The players would refuse to play.
2) The fans would refuse to attend/or protest in some manner.
3)The nation would be in uproar against such sacrilege and the match would be heavily criticised by both marginal and mainstream nationalist political parties.

What do the English do? "Yeah, we don't mind."



If it's not bad enough having some kind of anti-English sentiment being covered by an embarrassing bowdown to Welsh tradition, then it's this semi-pseudo belief of an united British Union and that any bloody anthem would do. It's just those English after all.

If it was up to me, I would burn the houses down of all involved and boot them over the border to Wales and let them live with the Welsh.

Perhaps they may in time get to know the lyrics for 'Lands of my Fathers'?

[Treffie]

Slowly but surely, the Welsh conquest of England is starting...again!

Seriously though, why can't they play both anthems like they did when the FA Cup Finals were staged in the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff? Doesn't make sense to me.

As for the Ashes being played in Wales, I can't see why there's such an uproar about it, the ECB does represent England and Wales after all.

[Beorn]

Seriously though, why can't they play both anthems like they did when the FA Cup Finals were staged in the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff? Doesn't make sense to me.

That would be a compromise at this time. Actually, it would be a step forward in light of the fact that 'God Save Our Queen' has been dropped altogether.

As for the Ashes being played in Wales, I can't see why there's such an uproar about it, the ECB does represent England and Wales after all.

But that can be put down to the Ashes being an England and Australia grudge match, played upon the soil of the two nations contesting.

[Treffie]

But that can be put down to the Ashes being an England and Australia grudge match, played upon the soil of the two nations contesting.

Wales has always been represented in the England team, so by playing on the `soil` of the two nations would include Wales. Perhaps they should rename the team `England and Wales?`

The only other alternative is to split the ECB into two separate entities which will mean both teams would have nothing to do with each other, but there is a lot of tradition involved in cricket and a lot of Welsh players have played a big part in their victories - Simon Jones, Tony Lewis (ex Chair of the ECB).

[Beorn]

Perhaps they should rename the team `England and Wales?`

I have enough grey hairs already, Tref. What you trying to do to me?

The only other alternative is to split the ECB into two separate entities which will mean both teams would have nothing to do with each other

Sounds good to me. Does Wales have a good cricket scene though?

...but there is a lot of tradition involved in cricket and a lot of Welsh players have played a big part in their victories - Simon Jones, Tony Lewis (ex Chair of the ECB).

It's hard, isn't it? But with examples such as the OT, I think it the only course of action.

[Treffie]

Sounds good to me. Does Wales have a good cricket scene though?

Believe it or not it's almost up there with rugby and football, you'll find cricket teams in every village. It's definitely the third sport though, but during the summer seeing as football or rugby isn't played, cricket is seen as the only option.

[Bridie]

Seems fair to play the Welsh national anthem.

the governing body is officially the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB),

In that case, it is a disgrace that the Welsh national anthem isn't played along with "God Save the Queen" at every game.

[Treffie]

Apparently they played all 3 anthems this morning, so it's just a storm in a tea cup from some tradionalists.

[Brynhild]

If this is England's last ditch attempt to gain some sort of crowd advantage, they're welcome to it! They'll need all the help they can get!

[Beorn]

Seems fair to play the Welsh national anthem.

It doesn't really. Considering that both England and Wales are represented, they should just stick with 'God Save Our Queen'.

In that case, it is a disgrace that the Welsh national anthem isn't played along with "God Save the Queen" at every game.

What is more despicable is that although playing as Britain under a different name, the Welsh authorities are still getting pandered to at the expense of the English.

Apparently they played all 3 anthems this morning...

...along with two hymns.

What a load of horse shit. All to appease the devils who crossed their palms with silver it seems.

"It is believed that the move is also aimed at appeasing Welsh Assembly members after the devolved body gave the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) a £3million grant to enable Cardiff to be picked as a venue for the series."

Source

Seems the cricket world had something to say about such nonsense.

"Former England captain Alec Stewart said: 'Before a game you want your national anthem to be played and the opposition's - nobody else's. 'They should just have God Save the Queen as they're playing as England not Wales and the rest of the hymns demean it.'
None of the current England squad was born and bred in Wales, and only batsman Alastair Cook - whose mother comes from Swansea - has any close Welsh ancestry"