The first time I saw the headline I thought it must be a misprint.
'England will STOP PLAY during an Ashes Test if abuse from Australian crowds crosses the line with captain Joe Root empowered by Ashley Giles to take the strongest possible action'.
I read further. No, it wasn't a misprint.
England managing director Giles had indeed given Root his full backing to call a halt to proceedings during play, 'should the traditionally raucous Ashes atmosphere in Australia cross the line of acceptability.'
The England cricket team telling Australian crowds what is acceptable when it comes to barracking? They must be joking.
England Test captain Joe Root (on the far right, with his teammates) will tell his side to stop play if sledging from Aussie crowds gets under their skin - but it was the Pommy fans who turned insulting opposition players into an art form
The Barmy Army - seen here during the Boxing Day Ashes Test in 2017 - specialise in picking out vulnerable cricketers and hammering them for an entire series
Let's be fair dinkum here. It wasn't Australian cricket crowds who turned personal abuse and mental torment of opposition players into an art form, it was the English.
Oh sure, they dress it up in silly costumes and clever lyrics and say that it's all harmless fun, but don't be fooled. The Barmy Army is as much a part of England's arsenal as James Anderson's outswinger.
There is nothing ad-lib or impromptu about it, such as you might get from an Australian supporter who has had too many beers in the sun. It's as well planned as the lunar landings. They pick out a player who they believe is vulnerable or particularly dangerous, find a sensitive spot and aim at it constantly, over after over, day after day, Test after Test until the series, and the droning din, is mercifully over.
Yes, they can be humorous for the first session or two, and there is no denying they add colour and atmosphere to Test cricket's greatest showpiece, but for the Poms to lecture Australian fans about barracking etiquette is the height of hypocrisy.
Giles and Root are quite right in saying that England players should not have to put up with cheer squads crossing the line into racism and mental health – and neither should Australian players – but what about other personal areas, such as family?
Former Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson and his wife Jessica (pictured together) were targeted by England's Barmy Army fans during the 2009 Ashes
In 2009 the mother of Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson told a reporter that she and Johnson's wife Jessica were barely on speaking terms, a situation that Johnson later admitted was causing him great emotional pain.
The Barmy Army jumped on the story and produced a ditty that its members sang incessantly.
To the tune of 'The Addams Family' TV show theme, complete with clicking fingers and handclaps, it went, 'His missus hates his mother, his mother hates his missus, they hate each other, the Johnson Family.'
Funny? Not it you were Mitchell Johnson, who would remain firmly in the crosshairs of the England supporters throughout his career.
During his time as Australian captain, Steve Waugh set an unfortunate chain of events in motion when he encouraged a team culture of verbal and psychological intimidation of opposition players that he called 'mental disintegration'.
The Barmy Army followed his lead and set it to music. In 2015 I had a front row seat to witness their relentless bullying of Johnson starting in Cardiff and ending at the Oval in London six weeks later.
Every time he so much as looked at the ball, they would break into the same grating dirge to the
