By Harry Pollard
What a year it’s been! We’ve seen plenty of cricket, including two Ashes series and a World Cup. Despite falling short, the England cricket teams gave us many wonderful memories.
Reflecting on the year, we’ve compiled a list in chronological order of our top 10 Barmy Army moments in 2023…
1. Barmy Army Partner with the ACE Programme
Although this was announced in the latter part of 2022, we continued our charity fundraiser efforts with the ACE programme throughout this year to create opportunities for talented youngsters to take their cricket to the next level. Through this partnership and your support, we have raised the necessary funds to allow ACE students to attend the R66T Academy’s high-performance programme in Adelaide, Australia.
We are grateful for these opportunities and thrilled to raise funds for such a fantastic charity. We want to thank you again for supporting this initiative and hope we can smash our fundraising efforts again in 2024.
🚨 NEW PRODUCTS 🚨
— England's Barmy Army 🏴🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) July 12, 2023
We're delighted to launch a new headwear range with @AceProgramme 🤝
All profits will be funding an ACE student to go to Adelaide on a High Performance Programme, the same one as Joe Root went to!
Buy one now 👇
2. Fixing Finchy’s Trumpet
While following the England Men’s Test tour of New Zealand, Finchy had his trumpet damaged during the 1st Test match in Mount Maunganui. Who came to the rescue? New Zealand Cricket!
They arranged to have it fixed, and it was presented back to Finchy by New Zealand captain Tim Southee and bowler Matt Henry on the eve of the 2nd Test.
This was a beautiful gesture from the team at New Zealand cricket and highlighted the appreciation for the support that has become synonymous with the Barmy Army and travelling English supporters.
England went on to draw an epic two-match series 1-1, and we can’t wait to return to New Zealand in 2024!
3. Duckett signs as Barmy Army Ambassador
At the start of the 2023 English summer, England Test match opener Ben Duckett became a Barmy Army brand ambassador. Ben would have a fine year for England, featuring in all five Ashes Tests and being part of England’s white-ball team throughout the summer and in the Caribbean.
Duckett scored just under 1,000 runs for England in 2023 and managed to lift his Barmy Army bat on nine occasions! Well batted, Ben.
4. Record Ticket Sales!
As many of you know, we had unprecedented demand for our biggest-ever allocations of Ashes tickets last summer. We’re delighted that so many of you were there to support the team and especially proud of the work from our committed customer service team in accommodating your requests.
We are dedicated to providing our loyal community access to the sport we all love and ensuring they have the best possible experience. We take pride in the positive feedback we have received from our members and the unforgettable moments we shared across the summer!
We look forward to sharing more cricketing moments alongside you in the stands in 2024.
5. Barmy Bingo is Born
An idea born out of a staff team social, we decided to bring our own unique version of Bingo to the cricketing world. Events started alongside the Ashes Test matches this summer, and we are delighted with the responses we’ve received so far!
We shared some truly special nights in Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester and London. Before taking our showstopper event on tour to the Caribbean, with over 300 people in attendance having the time of their lives in Barbados.
Watch out for more Barmy Bingo events as we look to make them bigger and better than ever in 2024!
6. Growth in Women’s Cricket
In 2022, we committed to supporting the growth of women’s cricket. This started with selling and promoting tickets to attend England women’s matches and providing media coverage of all women’s matches across Barmy Army channels.
During the summer, England’s women’s cricket team set new attendance records at Edgbaston while competing against the Aussies. We are proud to say we were there along with many others, to help create the unique Barmy Army atmosphere.
As we look to continue our work in the women’s game in 2024, we encourage all supporters to get involved!
A BARMY ARMY WICKET!!!! #Ashes pic.twitter.com/kGjgnhmGwa
— England's Barmy Army 🏴🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) July 5, 2023
7. Stadium Singalongs
Thanks to the ECB, we could activate at this home Ashes like never before.
Finchy kept the crowd going to provide England with the 12th man they deserved. Not only was this done during play, but he’s also been providing the atmosphere during the tea breaks!
A particular highlight was when 8,500 spectators in the party stand at Old Trafford joined in with ‘Oh Jimmy Jimmy’ to serenade the GOAT on his home ground.
Watch this magical moment here…
8,500 singing ‘Oh Jimmy Jimmy’ at his home ground ❤️#Ashes pic.twitter.com/r9OP9BD0xu
— England's Barmy Army 🏴🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) July 21, 2023
8. Broady’s Special Summer
We said goodbye to one of England’s greatest-ever players this summer, bowing out by taking the match-winning wicket at the Oval Test match in July. To show appreciation to the great man, our members wore headbands honouring Broady’s iconic look and symbolising our support for his achievements for England.
Earlier that year, however, we had the chance to film with Broady, thanks to our friends at Marmite. If you somehow missed it, you can watch this British masterpiece below…
We wish Broady all the best in his future endeavours and look forward to seeing more of his work in front of the camera.
🚨 NEW STUART BROAD SONG 🚨
— England's Barmy Army 🏴🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) May 16, 2023
With a month to go, we’re delighted to have joined forces with @marmite and get a new song for @StuartBroad8 🙌
Love it or hate it?#SpreadTheLove #ad pic.twitter.com/iRVx0NpC8V
9. The Barmy Army Fans World Cup
In November, cricket fans from seven nations faced off against one another at the famous Galle International Cricket Stadium. It was a truly spectacular event, and with the help of our partners at SriLankan Airlines, we brought cricket fans from all over the world together to celebrate the game we love.
The tournament was a huge success and has received glowing reviews from our attendees. We will continue with this annual event, so make sure you don’t miss out!
10. Barmy Army Travel is Taking Off!
With England’s Caribbean tour ending in Trinidad last week, our Barmy Army Travel Programme for 2023 ends. In our first full year of bringing our travel operation in-house, we’ve taken over 300 travel members to South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and The Caribbean. We are extremely proud to offer a different style to your standard cricket travel packages and your feedback has been brilliant.
This year has also seen the launch of the Ashes Pre-Payment Plan that allows our members first access to travel options for the 2025/26 Ashes series down under.
As we continue to develop our new travel proposition, we are genuinely excited about what we can offer on future tours as we aim to make the Barmy Army Travel experience accessible to as many people as possible!
What’s in store for 2024?
Here at Barmy Army HQ, we are excited to see what 2024 has in store for us.
Bazball faces its toughest Test yet, with England’s away series in India starting at the end of January. We’re delighted that many of you will join us to support the team, which should be another excellent touring experience!
Looking ahead to the summer, we have a jam-packed cricket calendar with Test series against West Indies and Pakistan, the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and a white ball series at home against the Aussies.
We also look forward to three big away tours to Pakistan, New Zealand and the Caribbean later in the year.
We are truly grateful for the ongoing support of our members and hope you can join us for an unforgettable experience in 2024. The Barmy Army is a place for all, and we want to continue growing and developing to offer more incredible experiences for many years.
Not a member? Sign up here!
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