Tuesday, July 15, 2008

England 'disappointed' by India itinerary

Test cricket returns to Brabourne Stadium after 35 years.

The England board has expressed "disappointment" with the proposed itinerary for the tour of India at the end of the year.

A statement from the board said that "despite representations, the itinerary doesn't offer the thousands of supporters who follow the England team abroad, the opportunity to experience more of the great cricket grounds of India."

The main concern surrounds the grounds nominated to host the seven-match one-day series. Instead of a tour that takes in such stadia as Eden Gardens in Kolkata and the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, England will reprise their 2005-06 experience with trips to venues such as Jamshedpur and Guwahati in the far east of the country, where their one-day international had to be abandoned due to rioting in the stands.

The highlight of the short Test series is that Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium will host its first Test for 35 years.

England were the last visiting team to play a Test there back in 1972-73. A dispute over tickets between the local board and the Cricket Club of India, which owns the ground, led to the birth of the Wankhede Stadium nearby, which staged its first Test in 1975.

The Brabourne hosted three one-day internationals between 1989 and 1995, before playing host to five ICC Champions Trophy games 11 years later. The last international match played there was a one-off Twenty20 international between India and Australia last year.

Proposed itinerary

November 6, 2008 England arrive in Mumbai
November 9 One-day warm-up match, Mumbai
November 11 One-day warm-up match, Mumbai
November 14 1st ODI v India, Rajkot
November 17 2nd ODI v India, Indore
November 20 3rd ODI v India, Kanpur
November 23 4th ODI v India, Jamshedpur
November 26 5th ODI v India, Cuttack
November 29 6th ODI v India, Guwahati
December 2 7th ODI v India, Delhi
December 5-7 Three-day warm-up match, Baroda
December 11-15 1st Test v India, Ahmedabad
December 19-23 2nd Test v India, CCI Mumbai