‘Pushed us to the extremes’: England could make formal complaint over pitch

England are considering making a formal complaint about the state of the pitch for the farcical third Test as they come to terms with going 2-1 down in the series against India.

England will be wary of being perceived as sore losers, but at the same time have to be prepared to make plain their anger at the pitches for the past two Tests that have heavily favoured India. The match referee, former India seamer Javagal Srinath, will file a report about the pitch in Ahmedabad with input from England and India.

“It’s something Joe [Root, the captain] and I need to talk about,” said Chris Silverwood, the head coach, when asked about a formal complaint. “First and foremost, Joe got five for eight. But at the same time, whatever the pitch did or didn’t do, India ultimately played better than us on that surface. But it probably pushed us to the extremes of what most of our players, if any, have experienced.

“We will be talking about certain things behind the scenes. But we are disappointed that we are sat here when there should be three days of cricket left. I am sure a few spectators are as well. But unfortunately the game did finish. From my point of view now, heading to the next game, how do we make amends and make sure that we come out fighting and hopefully draw the series?”

Silverwood expected the pitch “to hold up for longer”, but knows any formal complaints are likely to fall on deaf ears with little appetite at the International Cricket Council to mark down pitches in India.

Changes are inevitable for the final Test next week, with Silverwood opening the door for a return for off-spinner Dom Bess after he was dropped and not considered for the third Test when England picked a seam-heavy attack on a pitch that saw 28 of 30 wickets fall to spin. Bess was left out after the first Test when he took four first-innings wickets, but bowled poorly later in the match and was replaced by Moeen Ali.

England tried to persuade Moeen to stay in India rather than go home for his agreed rest period and then did not include Bess in the squad for the third Test.

But after seeing the pitch for the third Test spin so extravagantly and the match failing to last two days, England will have to turn to Bess or promote one of their reserve spinners – Amar Virdi, Matt Parkinson or Mason Crane – to the full squad, which feels very unlikely.

“He [Bess] is in contention. He was left out and Mo played in the second Test and was given a break. But equally, he was left out of this one because of potential movement we could have got out of the pink ball. In training, we thought how do we make best use of this pink ball and who do we have available? From Bessy’s point of view I wouldn’t read too much into that. He’s played an important part in helping us win games in the past and I’m sure he will do again in the future. He’s been great around the group.”

Chris Woakes will not be available for the fourth Test after being allowed to go home to see his family. Woakes was England men’s cricketer of the year in 2020 and is on a red-ball central contract worth £700,000, but flew home as the only player not to have been given a game in Sri Lanka or India.

He was ruled out of the first Test in Galle when he had to self-isolate after being in close contact with Moeen, who contracted coronavirus. His best chance of playing was the third Test in Ahmedabad, but England opted to go for Stuart Broad’s experience and Jofra Archer’s pace.

Woakes is not part of the Twenty20 set-up, but could be named in the squad for the three one-dayers at the end of the tour, which would enable him to prepare for the Indian Premier League.

Jeetan Patel, meanwhile, has been offered the position of full-time spin-bowling coach and is in discussions over his contract.

Patel is in India working with the spinners and recently confirmed his interest in the full-time role. It is understood a formal offer has now been made after he beat other candidates in the interview process. Patel has impressed with his determined work ethic, and communication skills with the bowlers.

The decision to appoint a full-time coach is an acknowledgement of the problem with spin in English cricket, one of the issues identified by Ashley Giles when he took over as director of cricket. He has turned to his old Warwickshire colleague to help solve the problem.

The Telegraph, London

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