*Official* Opening Match- England v New Zealand- October 5th, Ahmedabad

[Spikey]

Whoever the prime minister is oughta do something about this pathetic crowd

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Well done guys, we're playing 3 bowlers on a flattie.

Ferguson has a niggle

 

[SteveNZ]

Geez if Henry and Boult go for heaps, we're royally ****ed

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Pitch looks very good. Surprised NZ chose to bowl first. Brave against this top five and they're a bat first side.

We bat very deep though - Santner at 9

 

[Meridio]

Good thinking to lull England into a false sense of security in that first over

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Nice start

 

[Moss]

Cavernous empty stadium! What an advertisement for the game! Great organization BCCI!

They'll probably point to the 34L viewers who have apparently tuned in to the hotstar streaming platform

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

They started selling out tickets just before 40 days. What a farce.

 

[Athlai]

England to choke

 

[ataraxia]

Evil ICC for playing Dharmasena btw

 

[BazBall21]

We bat very deep though - Santner at 9

Batting deep is good for batting first though.

 

[Athlai]

Time to grab a beer

 

[BigBeefy]

Such a shame that it’s a neutral game picked first for this massive stadium- premier tournament of the sport and it’s practically empty.

Anyone know what the ticket pricing was like locally?

 

[TheJediBrah]

Umps call on height

 

[BazBall21]

They started selling out tickets just before 40 days. What a farce.

Attendance is shocking isn't it. Embarrassing really.

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

Opening match and its NZ vs England. Empty stadium. More angry than disappointed tbh now

 

[BazBall21]

Good call from Dharm

 

[SteveNZ]

Neesham deservedly earning a spot after 15 ODIs since the last World Cup, 17 with the bat 55 with the ball

 

[BazBall21]

Good over this so far.

 

[Skyliner]

A rematch between the finalists at the last WC, opening game....and nobody except a few NZ and England fans and the groundsmans family show up.

Dreadfully embarrassing stuff, obviously tickets are way, way overpriced - or more likely 'cricket' as we know it is dead in India, and only T20 and India matches will draw anyone. When people said - and still say - that T20 will kill cricket this was exactly what they meant. Which is a tragedy because India was known for it's passion for cricket. T20 may be something that grew out of cricket but it isn't the genuinely fair contest between bat and ball that authentic cricket should be.