NO TEST START SWITCH
Written by sport on November 19th, 2008 in sport.
Dhoni - may be needed by Chennai. NO TEST START SWITCH
England’s Test series against India will start on schedule next month.
The England and Wales Cricket Board on Tuesday confirmed the two-match series will begin in Ahmedabad on December 11, contrary to previous suggestions that it might be shifted back 24 hours.
India were understood to have proposed the match start late to ensure their captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni did not end up with an uncomfortable rush, should his IPL team Chennai Super Kings reach the Champions League final.
That day-night showpiece event is to take place on December 10 in Chennai, with the first Test set to start only hours later.
But IPL boss Lalit Modi made it clear there would be no switch after all - an assurance subsequently confirmed by an ECB spokesman on tour in India.
“No such thing will happen,” Modi, also vice-president of the Indian board, told BBC Sport.
“We looked at rationalising the schedule, but it’s not possible.”
Dhoni is the only player from either side involved in the inaugural Champions League.
Modi added: “We don’t even know if Chennai will be in the final, because the Champions League is yet to start.
“But whatever happens, Dhoni will definitely play in the first Test, starting as scheduled on December 11.”
Had the Ahmedabad fixture been shunted back, there would have had to be either a very short turnaround before the second Test in Mumbai or another late start - raising the prospect of a Christmas Eve finish to the tour, which would have found little favour with England’s players.
The possibility of a delayed start to the series was reportedly suggested during a weekend meeting between the Indian administrators and ECB top brass Giles Clarke and David Collier.
That summit was convened primarily to resolve England players’ availability for next spring’s IPL, despite a clash with the start of a scheduled Test series in England.
Many observers were beginning to interpret the situation as a ‘test case’ in the battle for supremacy between Test cricket and the threat posed to it by Twenty20.
The five-day game, it seems, has won this particular skirmish, a fact acknowledged by Professional Cricketers’ Association chief executive Sean Morris.
“This preserves the sanctity of Test cricket,” he said.
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