DISAPPOINTED FANS

Indifferent India sleepwalk through warm-up game

by Rob Johnston • Last updated on

For Essex, a county not boosted by a rich benefactor nor with a Test match ground to sustain them financially, the tour game against India was a big deal © Getty

For Essex, a county not boosted by a rich benefactor nor with a Test match ground to sustain them financially, the tour game against India was a big deal. The best Test side in the world were coming to Chelmsford and the club, rightly, wanted to make the most of it in terms of revenue and exposure. They had been advertising this match for weeks and there was an excitement surrounding the visit of Virat Kohli's star studded team.

Yet India have treated them with a general lack of respect which started with the remarkable request, just the day before the game to reduce the match by half. Scheduled as a four-day game for months, the Indian management had the gall to ask Essex and the ECB for the match to be reduced to a two-day affair. Only when they were told of the financial impact that would have on the club through the loss of ticket sales, did India relent and agree to a three-day game, agreed in conjunction with ECB chief executive Tom Harrison and operations director John Carr.

It still meant, however, that those supporters who bought tickets for the Saturday - a weekend which meant it was likely to have been a decent sized crowd - have been left disappointed although they will, at least, get refunds. Essex, who will make a small loss on the game, confirmed that the ECB will compensate them for the cost of refunds so they are not left to foot the bill for something that was out of their control. Cricbuzz understands Essex were very disappointed with the reduced length of the game.

The match was also decidedly average. India requested a match involving more than 11 players, which meant no first-class status and relegating it to little more than a glorified net session. India are not the only team to do this sort of thing of course - England have done it a few times in the past - and given the visitors have just one warm-up game before the first Test, the rationale behind giving as many players match-time is understandable. But this was not a proper match, not helped by Essex's decision to rest their first choice bowling attack, and the spectacle reduced as a result.

Not that the second day was remotely spectacle-like in nature. After they had been dismissed for 395, India bowled 58 overs in near enough five hours of play. That is a farcical over rate and disrespected those who had paid good money to watch the day's play. Mitigating factors? It was swelteringly hot in Chelmsford - but no hotter than in Mumbai or Bangalore - and an injury to R Ashwin meant skipper Virat Kohli stuck to bowling his seamers but neither of these is an excuse. Things didn't improve that much on the third day either.

India's unenthusiastic attitude to warm-up games is not new. They didn't have any practice games on their recent tour of South Africa and they performed well there despite losing the series and they produced a fine victory in the final Test in Johannesburg. From the outside, it looks as if India feel training amongst themselves is a better challenge than any warm-up opposition can offer and it has been interesting to see them having full net sessions during the lunch breaks of this game on specifically requested green pitches.

One got the sense that India didn't really want to be there at all. After each of the first two days, the players shot out of the pavilion barely 10 mins after play had finished, through a set of barriers specifically erected to avoid fan interaction, and onto their coach to be whisked away. No autographs, no selfies, no nothing. No Indian player was put up after play had finished to speak to the press either. You might argue that's not a big thing but their approach disappointed those supporters who had been hoping to grab a precious moment with one of their heroes.

"We live in Stockport, I'm a lifelong Essex fan and my son aged 10 has become the same and he also loves IPL," Richard Pennystan told Cricbuzz. "When I heard India were playing a tour match against Essex, we arranged to take him to Chelmsford for his first visit, to see his heroes. I took time off work so we could attend the first day on Wednesday.

"As we were leaving we noticed the barriers going up and team bus pulling up. We waited, poised with autograph book and pen ready. Within minutes of the final ball, the Indian players came out, walked straight past the crowd and ignored us all completely. It wasn't a huge group, just some kids longing to meet their heroes.

"I felt sorry for the Indian families who had clearly come to meet their idols, who then couldn't be bothered to show the fans any respect or value at all. We left after Kohli ran by hiding as though we were a baying angry mob. It put a sour end to a good day and such a contrast to other occasions when I've seen teams in that context take an opportunity to value those who support them."

Perhaps this attitude is because Indian players are constantly bombarded wherever they go. Perhaps for their own sanity, the players just want to do what they need to do and then leave without having to sign a hundred autographs or smile for innumerable selfies. That's understandable but they have totally missed what a big deal this was for Essex and for those who had come to watch them play.

In fairness, there were nice moments too. Essex's opener Varun Chopra managed to spend some time with Virat Kohli before the second day's play, picking his brain on technique and India's captain was excellent with the county's young mascot at the toss, posing for photographs and spending some time chatting with him. County sources told Cricbuzz that the Indian players have been well mannered in the main and appreciative of the efforts Essex's staff have put in. But these things don't make up for what one Essex staff member said had been a "challenging week".

In this professional age, maybe it's naive to think that his could have been a brilliant four days for both Essex and India. That it could have been a showcase of everything that is so good about this game of ours, connecting some of the best players in the world with a domestic club with its own proud tradition and with a large number of spectators, many of whom were Indian supporters, who had come to watch. It could have been a festival of cricket. Instead, India have treated it as if they just wanted to get out as quickly as possible. And that is both disrespectful and such a shame.

© Cricbuzz

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