Police to punish unruly crowd during 4th Ashes Test

Melbourne:

The Police have promised strict action against unruly fans during Australia's Boxing day Test against England, saying misbehaving drunk crowd will be evicted and fined.

The officials are expecting a capacity crowd, close to one lakh, at the MCG when the Test begins on Sunday.

"If you have too much to drink I can guarantee it's going to cost you USD 478 and you will be locked up, evicted and won't see the rest of the game," Acting Superintendent Paul Pottage said.

Pottage said police are not against people having fun but they would not tolerate bad behaviour.

"You can sing, you can have a drink, you can make a lot of noise but if you throw objects, if you disrupt the game for other patrons you will be out here and not inside," he said.

The series is locked 1-1 as the first match ended in a draw and England and Australia winning the second and third respectively.

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said he fully supported police efforts to keep fans under control.

"We're just wanting to put the message out there today that those who are ruining other people's fun won't be tolerated and the appropriate action will be taken in those situations," Sutherland said according to Australian Associated Press.

He also expressed excitement about the possibility of world record crowd numbers.

"It's a nice endorsement of cricket and where it sits as a part of the Australian way of life in summer. But also at a time when people sometimes call Test cricket into question (this is) a real endorsement of the fact Test cricket is super strong and very well supported," he said.