
The Ashes rivalry has spiced up off the the field as England team security clashed with Australian media at Brisbane Airport on Saturday (December 13).
The incident added another layer of drama to England’s already difficult Ashes campaign. Having lost the first two Tests at Perth and Gabba, the Ben Stokes-led side is trailing 0-2 in the five-match series.
As the England squad members prepared to depart from Brisbane to Adelaide ahead of the third Test, they were engulfed by cameras of the Australian media. The routine media exercise turned chaotic when a member of England’s security staff got into a heated exchange with Channel 7 cameraman.
A video of this episode went viral on social media, showing the security guard repeatedly blocking the cameraman. “I’m standing, I’m just standing here, mate,” the security guard can be heard saying, before later shouting, “Get out of my face, out my face, out my face. You’re in my face.”
Despite the ugly confrontation, English players seemed unaffected and continued to walk with their earphones on.
The channel whose cameraman was involved in the incident issued a statement, vowing to raise the matter through appropriate channels.
“Earlier today, there was an incident at Brisbane Airport involving a 7NEWS camera operator and a member of the England Cricket team’s travelling party. While conducting routine filming in a public space, the camera operator was physically confronted despite acting respectfully and professionally,” Seven Network said in a statement.
“The safety and wellbeing of our staff is paramount. This matter is being taken seriously and is now being managed through the appropriate channels,” the statement added.
The incident comes at a tough time for the Three Lions, who lost the first two Ashes Tests by eight wickets each. The third Test is slated to get underway on Wednesday (December 17) at the Adelaide Oval.
