{"id":238156,"date":"2026-04-12T15:00:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T15:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/12\/the-kindness-of-strangers-the-ashes-heat-was-unbearable-then-a-barmy-army-member-offered-his-seats-in-the-shade\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T15:00:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T15:00:21","slug":"the-kindness-of-strangers-the-ashes-heat-was-unbearable-then-a-barmy-army-member-offered-his-seats-in-the-shade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/12\/the-kindness-of-strangers-the-ashes-heat-was-unbearable-then-a-barmy-army-member-offered-his-seats-in-the-shade\/","title":{"rendered":"The kindness of strangers: The Ashes heat was unbearable. Then a Barmy Army member offered his seats in the shade"},"content":{"rendered":"

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W<\/span>e\u2019re great enemies in cricket, England and Australia. So when the Ashes returned this past summer, my son and I travelled from Ballarat to Adelaide to see the showdown in the third Test. It\u2019s a long drive but we made it a boys\u2019 trip, stopping in at pubs and all that nonsense on the way.<\/p>\n

It was a great start to the essential cricket pilgrimage. The problem was when we got to the Adelaide Oval, the temperature was a gruelling 40C. Worse still, by the middle of the day, the sun was beaming directly on to our seats. There was no shade and no reprieve.<\/p>\n

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You simply couldn\u2019t stay in the stands \u2013 as the sun hit, everyone around us began streaming out to hide out in the bar. I suffer from vertigo and, when the heat triggered an attack, I had no choice but to abandon my seat and seek cover by the exit. I sat down on some shaded stairs to catch my breath and resigned myself to missing the game.<\/p>\n

Before long, a bloke who was quite obviously a member of the Barmy Army \u2013 England\u2019s travelling support squad \u2013 came up to me and asked if I was OK. I explained that the sun had me feeling crook and he didn\u2019t miss a beat with his response.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got some seats in the shade. Want to come sit with us?\u201d<\/p>\n

He and a mate from the UK had brought their young sons to Australia to see the Ashes and had wound up with a couple of spare seats.<\/p>\n

I gratefully took them up on the offer and we spent the rest of the day with these blokes, striking up a great friendship and buying each other beers. They were terrific, as were their kids.<\/p>\n

I was so touched that a stranger would go to that trouble. I\u2019m clearly Australian \u2013 I had my Adelaide cricket cap on \u2013 but that Pommy bloke still lent a hand to someone from the opposition.<\/p>\n

Without that act of kindness, I would have had to leave early and miss seeing Travis Head<\/a> make that incredible century. What a game that was, and what a wonderful gesture from a sworn supporter of our sporting rivals.<\/p>\n

What is the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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