England’s Barmy Army face friendly fire

England's most fanatical cricket supporters, the so-called Barmy Army, will go into battle at Headingley on Friday without a key lieutenant - Billy Cooper (above) or, as he's better known, 'Billy the Trumpet'.

Under fire from several quarters - Dominic Lawson in the Independent accused them of "boorish chauvinism" and despaired of their behaviour when they booed Australian skipper Ricky Ponting to the wicket at Edgbaston - the army have been warned that flagbearers and musicians will not be welcome in Leeds for the fourth Test of the Ashes series.

The crackdown means Cooper will have to leave his instrument at home while the army's de facto leader Vic Flower (above right), who has orchestrated proceedings in cricket grounds the world over, will not be allowed in with his usual array of George Cross flags.

Headingley traditionally hosts one of the more raucous crowds anyway: when England played South Africa there last year, 81 people were ejected during the first three days of the Test match.

Not everyone has it in for the army, however: Ponting himself wrote in his Daily Telegraph sports column: "People have been upset about the fact that some English fans were booing me, but I thought it was a terrific atmosphere to play in, and I loved every minute. I have said for a long time that the Barmy Army are the best sporting crowd in the world."

Nor does trumpeter Cooper conform to the usual lager lout image: he is a classical musician trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, who earns his living playing in orchestras and West End shows.

He joined the Barmy Army top brass in 2004 when he was recruited while watching England in the Caribbean. And he claims that his tunes can help diffuse the situation when the crowd is threatening to turn ugly. "I think that when things are getting a little bit fruity, singing a song to the sound of a trumpet can change the atmosphere, and make it less edgy," he says.