India cut short Essex tour game by a day

India, set for a five-Test series in England starting 1 August at Edgbaston, have opted for a shorter contest in their only tour game – starting Wednesday, 25 July in Chelmsford – prior to the five-dayers because of concerns over the soaring temperatures.

After wrapping up their game against Essex on 27 July, India will travel to Birmingham a day early and train at Edgbaston instead.

Unfortunately, from Essex’s point of view, money earned from the tickets sold for Saturday’s fourth day will now have to be reimbursed.

There have also been reports in sections of the media that the patchy outfield – again because of the dry weather – is also a reason for the Indians to opt for a shorter game, but the Essex management dismissed the suggestion.

“The outfield is not unsafe and the decision has nothing to do with that. The reason the game has been cut to three days is because of the heat and the very busy schedule for the Test series,” Derek Bowden, the Essex Chief Executive, was quoted as saying by the British media.

“We had a meeting with the ECB [England and Wales Cricket Board], the BCCI [Board of Control for Cricket in India] this morning and agreed to cut short the match. There is nothing wrong with the pitch at all, and we have had no complaints and no grumbles about it.”

The match between Essex and the Indians has not been given first-class status and India are expected to use all the available members of their 18-man squad.

Interestingly, the Indians had decided to scrap their only tour game prior to the three-Test series in South Africa earlier this year, opting instead to train among themselves.