Streaking

Not all sporting matches can be genuinely exciting. Sometimes, the audience and spectators need some excitement to liven the atmosphere with something amazing to happen.

In some cases, fans will take matters into their own hands. This may take form of streaking. Surprisingly, this has happened more often than believed.

Additionally, streaking in sport involves individuals running naked onto the field during a live match, driven by attention, dares, or protest.

Though it seems like there's been a... uh... stark increase in the number of nudie runners recently, the act has a long and often painful history. Holmwood, who faces a potential lifetime ban from ANZ Stadium and a $5 500 fine; isn't the first to have earned infamy for disrupting play with nothing but a smile.

It was around 15:15 on Monday 4 August 1975, 51 years ago this Thursday, and England and Australia were meandering their way towards a draw on the fourth day of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s. The home side were steadily building a declaration total; a heatwave had thermometers hovering around 33°C and, sat in front of the Tavern, Michael Angelow was pondering his immediate future.

The immediate past had featured several pints of ale and some good-natured back-and-forth with a group of Australia fans who has also been enjoying the sun and the refreshments. The question of livening up the soporific proceedings had been raised.

A member of the antipodean party came up with an idea and offered £20 to the man bold enough to carry it out. Angelow and a cook in the merchant navy, stepped up to the challenge. "I didn’t have any plan, just to keep running."

Those around the country tuned into Test Match Special were treated to John Arlott’s description of what happened next, made all the more memorable by his failure to remember the word "streaker": "We’ve got a freaker! We’ve got a freaker down the wicket now. Not very shapely and it’s masculine. And I would think it’s seen the last of its cricket for the day. The police are mustered, so are the cameramen and Greg Chappell. And now he’s being embraced by a blond policeman. And this may be his last public appearance but what a splendid one."

"He’s now being marched down in the final exhibition past at least 8 000 people in the Mound Stand, some of whom perhaps have never seen anything quite like this before. And he’s getting a very good reception."

That may be one of the most famous pieces of cricket commentary in existence but years later; Arlott felt he had missed an opportunity. "No, I blew it," he told David Rayvern Allen. "What I should have said was that perhaps his greatest disappointment was not being deprived of further cricket for the day, but that he actually managed to straddle the stumps without even dislodging a bail."

Angelow had shed his clothing and, wearing nothing but a pair of black socks and his white Adidas trainers, leaped over both sets of stumps, in doing so creating one of the great cricket photographs. There he is, buttocks shining proudly in the sunshine, a hand (rather than a more personal appendage) poking out jauntily between his legs, fingers spread as if to say: "a da!" Such is the picture’s pop-culture cache that it adorns the cover of the Duckworth Lewis Method’s second album, Sticky Wickets.

The police, taking a fairly laissez-faire approach to the spectacle, eventually caught up with Angelow after he had wandered over to the Mound Stand and escorted him from the ground.

Perhaps their hesitation was borne out of inexperience. Angelow’s amble across the Lord’s pitch had created a little bit of history: he was the first streaker at a Test match in England (the equally-coveted First Streaker at a Major Sporting Event title having gone to Michael O’Brien at Twickenham in 1974).

"No one at Lord’s had seen a streaker before, but I’d seen quite a few back in Australia prior to that," noted the Australia batsman Doug Walters, who had been on the field at the time. "They were really quite commonplace back home, but you certainly didn’t expect that kind of behaviour in England, certainly not in those days, and at Lord’s of all places. It’s probably fair to say that cricket in England was a bit formal. Times have changed since then, whether for the good or the worse I don’t know."

"The players managed to forget about the interruption pretty quickly. I think it was handled pretty well at the time – there was quite a laugh from everyone on the field, but then it was back to business."

Such was the attitude at the time that Angelow returned to Lord’s the following day to watch the conclusion of the match (Australia comfortably batting out for a draw to maintain their 1-0 lead in the series). Angelow, though, did not get to hold on to his winnings. "I remember the magistrate asking me how much the bet had been for and I said £20," he told the Independent. "He said: ‘Right, we’ll have that then’ and that was it.”

He was offered cash to repeat his streak at the Grand National and at Wimbledon but turned all offers down, returning to the comparatively quiet life in ships’ kitchens "It wasn’t something I was going to make a career out of. Streaker isn’t something you put on your CV."

Michael Angelow was not the first streaker to ‘take field’ during a Test. In fact, he was not even the second. The first incident took place over a year back in Auckland, almost the exact antipode of St. John’s Wood. There was an encore the day after, perhaps by the same person; or perhaps not.

Australia and New Zealand didn't play each other for nearly three decades after their first meeting in 1945-46. In 1973-74, they played two three-Test series, one in each country. The Australian leg went the expected way, Australia winning a Test by an innings on either side of a rain-aided draw.

The matches in New Zealand went a different way. The first Test at Wellington ended in a draw with the Chappell brothers scoring 646 runs between them. A five-wicket win for New Zealand (their first against Australia) at Christchurch meant that Australia had to win the final Test to save the series.

The pitch for the third Test at Auckland was overwatered. Bounce was uneven at one end and batting became a lottery. Australia were all out for 221 on the first day, 22 March 1974.

Before the close, New Zealand lost 8 wickets for 85 runs. Among this ruins, Doug Walters scored one of his finest hundreds; while destroying the bowling of a young Richard Hadlee.

It was during the New Zealand innings, half-an-hour before the close, that the first streaker made his appearance. Described as 'a dark-haired young man', he ran from near the sightscreen, through mid-wicket and disappeared between the stands near the square-leg boundary.

It all happened very quickly before the police or anyone else could react. That probably accounts for the differences in the descriptions of what he was wearing. He may have been wearing a flesh-coloured t-shirt or nothing at all.

As the match progressed to the evening on the second day, Australia built up a big lead in their second innings. The wicket was still difficult. Ian Redpath was the only batsman to cross fifty but he carried his bat for 159.

In the evening while facing the second new ball, Redpath had another distraction to negotiate. This was another athletic young man who raced across the ground on the leg-side. Everyone seemed better prepared this time. Television cameras caught him.

The police chased him as he went off the field. The streaker raced into an area where the men’s restrooms were located. The police found that the place was populated by some twenty people, none of whom answered to the description of the streaker. It appeared that he had an accomplice who provided him with his dress before the police could get there!

Considering the coverage, it seems odd that there are differing opinions about his attire. He was probably in the nude but he could have been wearing a brief.

That is all that reports suggest. What they do not suggest, however, is whether the same man had made a repeat performance.

The third day and final day went without incident. New Zealand Herald remarked dryly that the match was for once streaker-less. Australia won by 297 runs to retain the series. It would be another eleven years before New Zealand won a series against Australia.

Australian grounds were infested with streakers in the following years. It increased to the extent that the newspapers talked about an instance where the same individual tried to run across MCG twice on the same day before he was stopped.

Coincidentally, the first streaking in English football happened on 23 March; the day of the second incident in Auckland. Just before the start of the league match between Arsenal and Manchester City at Highbury, a middle aged man named John Taylor ran around the field before he was caught by three policemen.

He was forcibly clad in trousers and marched out. The North London Court imposed a £10 fine on him the next day. Thanks to the events at Eden Park, cricket stayed ahead of football by around a day and a half in this innovation.

Sixteen-and-a-half months later, Michael Angelow ran across the green canvas of the Lord’s. He deserves his fame — an Ashes Test at the most famous ground, being spoken about by John Arlott and Trevor Bailey on Test Match Special, the subject of a famous photograph by Patrick Eagar.

He also had an unforgettable name. Many have followed him over the next three decades till streaking in the cricket grounds became nearly extinct in the 2010s due to stricter access to the grounds and heavy fines.

Only two years after the Lords incident, the constant disruption that streaking caused was wearing very thin and Greg Chappell dished out a spanking to a streaker during a Test against New Zealand. But the all-rounder and one-time Brisbane Broncos hopeful Andrew Symonds provided the sport's greatest example of player-on-naked-fan violence when he flattened Robert Ogilvie after he ran on to The Gabba during a 2008 ODI against India.

Ogilvie, who unsurprisingly had been drinking with friends beforehand, claimed that being steamrolled by Symonds "felt great." Asked whether he wanted to press charges against "Roy," the South Australian told a reporter to "wake up to himself."

Police have branded the actions of a serial streaker who interrupted the dying moments of a NRL decider as "idiotic and senseless’" but Wati Holmwood has emerged as an unlikely hero on social media following his 90-metre nude dash.

At least eight Facebook pages have been set up dedicated to the serial streaker, including one page with more than 18 000 followers who are being encouraged to donate money to pay for his expected $5 500 fine.

"You can donate 5c, $1 or how ever much you want," the page says.

The tubby 33-year-old from Tempe is being described online variously as a "legend" and a hero who "deserves a medal" after he hurdled the fence at ANZ Stadium and sprinted nearly the length of the field before falling over in front of the goal posts, where he was pounced upon by security.

Dozens of memes also have been posted online, including one in which Holmwood is shown streaking across the finishing line of a 100-metre sprint in front of Usain Bolt.

Holmwood, who was charged after a similar stunt during a sudden-death clash between the Wests Tigers and New Zealand Warriors in 2011, had smeared himself in a Vaseline-like substance before hurdling onto the field to make it harder for security to tackle him.

However, the police and some Origin players, are less than impressed with his actions.

"No one wants to see a grown man running around naked at a footy match and this man can expect to not only feel the wrath of the crowd but also a magistrate," said Chief Superintendent Peter Gillam, who was in charge of the police operation at ANZ Stadium.

"Sadly one man’s actions disrupted the game during a crucial time. His running onto the field and into the middle of the play was not only dangerous but also idiotic and senseless."

Other social media users have blasted Holmwood’s streak, which came just two minutes and 10 seconds before the final siren.

His stunt meant match officials were forced to restart play in the form of a scrum – and a further set of six tackles – to the Maroons, denying the Blues the chance to snatch victory.

Some fans were furious, saying he ruined the game and should cop a bigger fine for his actions.

Holmwood was covered in a blanket and marched from the field on Wednesday night; before being taken to Auburn Police Station, where it is understood he did not co-operate with officers during the interview.

He was charged with wilful and obscene exposure, and entering or remaining on a playing field without authorisation. He is due to appear in Burwood Local Court on 5 August.

Police said he also would be banned from all future events at ANZ Stadium; while it is understood the NRL will impose a life-time ban on him for all rugby league matches.

Holmwood was charged by police in 2011 after he streaked onto Allianz Stadium during the first half of a match between the Wests Tigers and New Zealand Warriors.

At the time, one commentator said Holmwood’s tubby figure was sprinting across the field "like there was a free buffet beneath the goalposts." After reaching one try line, he turned around and began sprinting back upfield, evading the first security guard who attempted to tackle him.

A second security guard wrestled him to the ground, where he was arrested. Holmwood was charged in 2011 with wilful and obscene exposure in public, as well as assaulting a security guard who tried to apprehend him.

When he faced court for the first time the following month, he was wearing a T-shirt and a pair of shorts. Part of his bail conditions at the time required him to not drink in a public place or come within 500 metres of Allianz Stadium.

He pleaded guilty to those offences, was fined $800 and placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond. Court documents show he was on a good-behaviour bond at the time of last night’s alleged offence.

NSW coach Laurie Daley labelled the incident as "silly behaviour." "What more do you say?" Daley said. "I didn’t know what the rule was. I knew a try wouldn’t be allowed. Obviously disappointed we didn’t get the six set of six."

While it appeared Holmwood stopped what appeared a certain Maroons try, Blues captain Robbie Farah said the incident hindered his own team. "It was tough for us because of the ruling at the time. It was the fifth tackle and they got a scrum feed with a full set of six," Farah said.

"There were only two or three minutes left in the game, it wasn’t ideal for us...I didn’t notice him until right at the end there when he was on the ground. I was too occupied to notice him."

Queensland coach Mal Meninga said the "big, fat fella" cost Matt Scott a certain try.

"I thought he did very well," Meninga said of the way Holmwood evaded his pursuers. It was disruptive. It cost us a try. We handled it ... Silly, ridiculous it does happen in Origin, in sport, but it does happen."

It seems a bit unfair that the names of the pioneers of this lost art has not been recorded. Unless they come forward in their old age, it is likely that they are lost forever.

I don't see the problem with streakers. I'm fine with it as as long as the streaker doesn't cause any violence. It's just a way to add some excitement to a game. I would never do it though.