Chelmsford: India’s four-day practice match against county side Essex was reduced to three days amid high drama over the condition of the pitch and the outfield, both of which apparently left the visitors unhappy and threw their preparations for the Test series against England haywire.
The Indian team management took the decision to shorten the game after Tuesday afternoon’s net session after having a look at the pitch. Although there was no official word on why the match was shortened, coach Ravi Shastri was seen having an animated discussion with the local officials after getting a glimpse of the grassy pitch and a barren outfield that can cause injury while fielding.
The rest of the Indian support staff, including assistant coach Sanjay Bangar and bowling coach Bharat Arun also took stock of the conditions and were seen having discussions with the ground staff.
A senior member of the ground staff spoke at the end of it all on condition of anonymity and said that ‘all requests of the Indian team management have been accepted’.
When pressed if that included ‘shaving off the grass’, he simply said, “We have bent over backwards to accommodate the Indian team management’s demands. It is disappointing though because we had sold a lot of tickets for the fourth day (Saturday).” The game which was to be played Wednesday to Saturday will now instead end Friday.
The Oval county ground has nearly 25 pitches comprising its central square, and all of them had lush green grass covering. It was a strange sight given the heat wave in nearly all of United Kingdom at the moment, with temperatures in Chelmsford soaring to 27 degrees, Tuesday.
The appearance of the ground was made stranger by the fact that the outfield looked rugged and devoid of any grass, with only patches of green to be seen. It was cause for concern for the Indian team who wouldn’t want any players injured during this game.
India’s practice session lasted nearly four hours, with players arriving here in two batches. Nearly all batsmen and bowlers had rigorous workouts, with Cheteshwar Pujara, Murali Vijay and Virat Kohli also concentrating on slip fielding.
As per statement from the Indian team management, the squad will now travel Saturday to Birmingham and start their preparations for the first Test (August 1) a day early.
The Indian pacers including Ishant Sharma, a still-injured Jasprit Bumrah and the just-arrived Mohammed Shami had a long spell at the nets. All of them looked quite sharp, even though Bumrah will only be available from the second Test onwards.
