Vuvuzelas not allowed at cricket venues

South African cricket fans should take note. The list of banned items at the matches between Pakistan and the Proteas in the UAE includes guns, knives, fireworks, narcotics ... and vuvuzelas.

The plastic trumpets, which provided the musical accompaniment to football's World Cup in South Africa this summer, will be confiscated on arrival at the grounds, as per International Cricket Council (ICC) guidelines.

These regulations are not mandatory in bilateral series like this one, but the UAE cricket authorities choose to adhere to them as strictly as they do to the rest of the ICC's security code.

"As a musical instrument [the vuvuzela] would feature on the items listed as prohibited at the point of entry," a spokesman for the ICC said.

"There were exceptions made to the rule, namely for example in the West Indies at the ICC World Twenty20 bands were allowed in with trumpets and drums.

"And in the Ashes series this year, there is an exception made for the Barmy Army [England's prominent supporters group] trumpeter to bring his instrument into the ground."

The organisers of this series are not the only party-poopers in world sport. Vuvuzelas are banned at most English Premier League football grounds, as well as by Uefa.

They were even outlawed at the recent Champions League Twenty20, even though it was staged in South Africa.

The request from the security agents in charge of policing the mandate is clear: please don't shoot the messenger.

"This is the first event post the South Africa World Cup, where vuvuzelas were obviously being used all over the place," Andrew Haslam, who is the security coordinator for the Dubai leg of the series, said.

"Any horns or similar instruments will be confiscated. We get made out to be the bad guys and it is small things like that which annoy cash-paying spectators."