***Official*** 5th Test at Old Trafford, Manchester - 10th-14th of September

[sunilz]

Why ECB doesn't want 5th test to be played next year ? Why they want to consider it as standalone test match ? Any reason.

 

[Uppercut]

Do you seriously think a MI Vs CSK game in England will not sell out as much as a T20 Vs India?

It definitely wouldn’t have demand as high as the international T20. It’s hard to say whether it would sell out anyway. Those one-off visiting sporting events almost always do, but I wouldn’t say it’s certain. The IPL really doesn’t have much presence in the UK. I would guess that the vast majority of people have never heard of it. Liking cricket at all is already a bit niche.

 

[Shri]

It definitely wouldn’t have demand as high as the international T20. It’s hard to say whether it would sell out anyway. Those one-off visiting sporting events almost always do, but I wouldn’t say it’s certain. The IPL really doesn’t have much presence in the UK. I would guess that the vast majority of people have never heard of it. Liking cricket at all is already a bit niche.

asian community would swarm the event

 

[honestbharani]

Why ECB doesn't want 5th test to be played next year ? Why they want to consider it as standalone test match ? Any reason.

Insurance stuff I guess. Something related to money for sure.

 

[Teja.]

Yeah but they’re already exposed in that case. Vaccinated individuals don’t really need to quarantine anyway. But if india were sooooooo worried about the vaccinated negatively tested players infecting the rest of the squad, then replace the exposed players.

of course we all know that it’s a bunch of nonsense and they don’t actually care about ”proper” protection against covid otherwise you wouldn’t have book signings or whatever the hell shastri was up to.

Meh, I think this is a bit harsh. When someone you interacted with gets COVID and you are with your unvaccinated kids and wife, it’s understandable that you’re a bit mind****ed and don’t want to play. Not everyone is objective enough in those situations to make a judgment that COVID is probably not going to affect their kid badly. For a lot of parents, the high possibility of their kid getting covid is a genuinely disturbing thing which can make them not want to be playing cricket at the same time. (See Ashwin example below)

I think your second point is a bit iffy. 1) It’s sadly human nature for people to not prioritize protection against things but freak out when said thing occurs 2) Assuming but not conceding Shastri/Kohli don’t deserve any sympathy for being careless, castigating the entire team who didn’t do anything careless with a broad brush of ‘of course they don’t care and are being dishonest’ on some level is ridiculous especially because 3) guys like Ashwin quit the entire IPL late last year because people in his extended family got COVID and he felt he needed to be there for them and felt it was insensitive to be playing cricket at the time.

 

[sledger]

sledger and FJ are especially gonna love the fact that now Tom Harrison is saying this series is over and the test next year would be considered a one-off. That means India are the

W I N N E R S
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I guess I might love it if I knew who this Tom bloke was

 

[Window]

I think it’s sad that some people think the Indian team is attempting to dodge playing the last test match just cause they’re leading the series. As if there isn’t genuine cause for concern regarding COVID here.

 

[honestbharani]

It definitely wouldn’t have demand as high as the international T20. It’s hard to say whether it would sell out anyway. Those one-off visiting sporting events almost always do, but I wouldn’t say it’s certain. The IPL really doesn’t have much presence in the UK. I would guess that the vast majority of people have never heard of it. Liking cricket at all is already a bit niche.

Nah.. the same expat population that shows up for India games will show up, with possibly higher numbers for IPL games IMO.

 

[Teja.]

I think it’s sad that some people think the Indian team is attempting to dodge playing the last test match just cause they’re leading the series. As if there isn’t genuine cause for concern regarding COVID here.

Yeah, I honestly wonder if people's assessments of their employees or similar would be quite as coldly pragmatic ("Your entire family's now been exposed anyway and your kid will probably be fine in 48 hours, so better get cracking on the work, need it on my desk by 8 pm tomorrow").

Criticise the BCCI all you want for having $$$ in their eyes but being that cynical of the players themselves who don't want to play in these circumstances is a bit ****ed up imo, especially when cricketers have quit the IPL last time in much better circumstances to be with their family.

 

[Niall]

It definitely wouldn’t have demand as high as the international T20. It’s hard to say whether it would sell out anyway. Those one-off visiting sporting events almost always do, but I wouldn’t say it’s certain. The IPL really doesn’t have much presence in the UK. I would guess that the vast majority of people have never heard of it. Liking cricket at all is already a bit niche.

I think you get the likes of ABDV, Gayle , Kohli, Maxwell etc and of course the English lads and along with the BT or Sky sports hype then yeah it sells out relatively easily.

ECB have wanted ipl matches before but the BCCI have had no reason to oblige.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

Who has said that India don't want to play because they're leading the series? At the time they made the decision they were potentially forfeiting the match and a series win with it.

 

[wpdavid]

Lol no it won't, someone was murdered on the field in a test in 1973 and no one even talks about that now.

Are you sure about that one?

 

[Arachnodouche]

Covid's scary stuff. Don't blame the guys if they had any reservations whatsoever. Shastri and Kohli showing up at an event with 100 people pressed in was irresponsible as hell though. I don't care what stage of pandemic management the UK is in, I just don't see how members of the touring party can be so cavalier in the current climate, especially when they have families around.

 

[Window]

Who has said that India don't want to play because they're leading the series? At the time they made the decision they were potentially forfeiting the match and a series win with it.

You can swap that with wanting to rather play in the IPL instead or any other perceived selfish reason if it suits. I’ve also generally read the connotation from such posts being that the players’ decision would be different if they were not leading the series, but maybe I’m wrong about that.

 

[sunilz]

So, CSK players are going to Dubai on a commercial flight instead of charter flight . Do BCCI officials don't understand they are making their case very weak legally?

 

[wpdavid]

Amazing use of the word acumen.

I, for one, misread it first time.

 

[Bijed]

You can swap that with wanting to rather play in the IPL instead or any other perceived selfish reason if it suits. I’ve also generally read the connotation from such posts being that the players’ decision would be different if they were not leading the series, but maybe I’m wrong about that.

In that case, we'd be saying they were running away because they were losing/afraid of losing

 

[DriveClub]

Jeez this is just a game, get over yourselves nerds.

 

[silentstriker]

Yeah, I honestly wonder if people's assessments of their employees or similar would be quite as coldly pragmatic ("Your entire family's now been exposed anyway and your kid will probably be fine in 48 hours, so better get cracking on the work, need it on my desk by 8 pm tomorrow").

Criticise the BCCI all you want for having $$$ in their eyes but being that cynical of the players themselves who don't want to play in these circumstances is a bit ****ed up imo, especially when cricketers have quit the IPL last time in much better circumstances to be with their family.

there is some fair points there, especially re:Ashwin and others who might not have been responsible for violating the bubble. I think if they would used the same logic if a physio in a team gets Covid, I would definitely agree with you. Somehow, I think they wouldn’t. I might just be cynical there tho, who actually knows? And I’m around covid so much I’ve become desensitized to it, so I can understand the point that it’s more difficult for me to empathize with their emotional state.


Maybe the solution is to send Shastri the bill for the 30m

 

[Cruxdude]

I have no clue how they thought it was a good decision to continue with the series once the physio tested positive. That same guy tested negative a day before that so saying the players gave negative test results means nothing at all. The physio would have worked with multiple players and the players would have practiced/travelled together. Pure greed is what made them decide to continue with the match in the first place.

I wouldn't be surprised if we see positive cases come up among the Indian players. IIRC after the Sri Lanka series there were a couple of guys who tested positive and had to stay behind in Sri Lanka. Considering these guys had small kids with them this was the right decision and should have been taken as soon as the physio tested positive.