January 28, 2024 will go down in history as one of the greatest days for the English cricket fan. Because Australia lost to the West Indies in the second Test at Brisbane and some time later, England stunned India in the first Test at Hyderabad.
“It was indeed a double delight,” John Lever, the former England swing bowler who is heading a group of fans that have flown down to watch the Test series, told The Hindu with a laugh.
“And we all thoroughly enjoyed the Test match. It was one of the best Tests I have ever been to.”
Lever, who had taken 10 wickets to lead England to an innings win against India on his Test debut at New Delhi in 1976-77, has been leading tours for the English cricket supporters around the country for years for a company called Spectate.
There are many such companies who take the fans and there are also a lot of people who tour on their own.
The English love Test cricket. This correspondent met two Englishmen who spent a considerable sum to watch India playing the recent Test series in South Africa. They both said it would have been difficult to get hotel rooms if England was playing.
Hyderabad hotels played host to hundreds of the visiting England fans over the last week. You could meet many of them at the airport waiting to catch their flight for Visakhapatnam.
Among them were the elderly couple from Worthing, a town in West Sussex, David and Deborah Marcus.
They will be watching all the five Tests. “I have also been to three rounds of Ranji Trophy matches,” said David, who retired from writing software. “I saw Delhi playing Pondicherry, Rajasthan against Maharashtra, and Hyderabad versus Arunachal Pradesh.”
He is absolutely delighted that England scored a stunning come-from-behind victory against India in the first Test. “This was certainly one of the best Test matches I have been to, but the one at Wellington, against New Zealand (which England lost by just one run) last year was more exciting, though I was disappointed with the result, of course.”
Some of the England fans had arrived well before the first Test started and you could spot them watching the players during the training sessions at Hyderabad. “We have all been looking forward to this series in India,” said Luke Crosland, who came along with his friends Alex Gatt, Matthew Wild and Lewis Salmon.
Major boost
Crosland added that Test cricket certainly got a major boost back in England with Bazball. “I think it is really great and Test cricket has become more exciting.”
The fans loved the atmosphere of the Test match, with big crowds on all the four days: the total attendance went past 100,000 and that is not something you wouldn’t often find for Test matches in India.
“The atmosphere was fantastic and I was happy to find such big crowds,” said Ian, one of the young England fans. “The stadiums haven’t been this full in the other countries I have been to. It was nice that the organisers invited a lot of children. We got to see some excellent cricket. And it was brilliant to watch Ollie Pope bat; it was a special innings. I was also happy for Ben Foakes, who, I feel, has been unfairly. And he put on more than 100 with Pope.”
The fans weren’t happy with the facilities at the stadium though. One of them said that it was difficult to get drinking water on the first day and even things like sun-screen were being confiscated inside the stadium.
There had also been complaints about the rest rooms. The arrangements certainly could have been better a much anticipated high-profile Test match like this.
The die-hard cricket fans – of the red-ball variety – from England would go to even smaller venues where even food may be difficult to find.
One has come across some of them during the Ranji Trophy matches at grounds across the country. Ian Jones and his wife Sue, for instance. (Sue died a few years ago). Mind you, Indian fans hardly come to watch domestic cricket.
A tour to India can, of course, be expensive for an England fan. “This tour should cost me about £6,000, but it has been worth it,” said David. “Shrouds have no pockets.”
