Cricket at Taj(-worma)

Apparently that's what the ECB wants....'touristy' venues for Eng matches in the upcoming series. The issue that I spoke about, and Prem also referred to yesterday, has not been a few individual opinions afterall. It has reached the point where ECB is officially going to ask BCCI to reconsider, according to this story by Andrew Culf in Guardian. And the reasons? Here are the samples:

England are seeking an urgent rethink by the Indian cricket board of the itinerary for next spring's tour amid fears it will prove too gruelling for players and supporters. The schedule, released after weeks of delay, bypasses several large venues, including Calcutta, Delhi, Madras and Bangalore, that have the biggest stadiums and largest volume of high-quality hotel accommodation

So, when was the last time a touring team did not have enough hotel accommodation in India? And if they are concerned about the traveling batch of supporters, well cricket tours are not organised to accommodate them. All the venues are international class, where big teams (yes Aus also) have played earlier. But wait, there's more(emphasis mine):

The first two Tests will be staged well off the tourist track, in Ahmedabad and Nagpur, and Goa is the only city with a reputation for tourism among the seven one-day international venues

So now what? BCCI must organised cricket matches in Agra and Varanasi? Madras, Bangalore and Kolkata may be large cities with international flight connections, but certainly not on the 'tourist track'(any more than, say, Kochi)? And more:

Although the England and Wales Cricket Board has been diplomatic in public, officials are dismayed by the amount of traveling the team faces, particularly between the largely unknown one-day venues

But I thought they were unhappy with having small centers for test matches (Nagpur, Ahmedabad). So instead of second test in Nagpur, if we put it in Kolkatta(a 'big' center) won't it be more hectic travel for them? So, if I understand it right(which is a challenge) they want big centers *and* less hectic travel. Emm...I think GoI should consider, for the sake of world cricket, to shift Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai into a single cluster, somewhere next to Varanasi preferably. And oh, throw in that Taj Mahal somewhere there, please?(ofcourse I'm exaggerating, and being sarcastic:-)Wait, there's more

England believe they have been unfairly treated in comparison with Australia, whose four-Test tour last year included matches in Bangalore and Madras, as well as Mumbai, where England will play the third Test in March.

So this is what its all about, is it? Australia got a better deal, hmmm. But they did play in Nagpur, didn't they? And as far as I can remember, of the top of my head, Aus has also played ODIs in Indore(2001), Kochi(1998), Vizag(2001). And as far as tests are concerned, like it or not, there is a rotation policy in BCCI for allocation of test venues, and unfortunately that doesn't link to the tourist demands of English supporters. And here comes the bogey

Some see the scheduling as part of a move by the Board of Control for Cricket in India to destabilize the England team, others merely as a typically chaotic move by a board riven by internal disputes.

While I do understand and acknowledge that this is a good chance for promotion of tourism, and BCCI can work in co-ordination with GoI to help that cause to some extent, I don't see scope for too much of changes. India is a big country(and we face that in our daily work, personal lives as well) and travel is bound to be hectic. All that can he done to help it is have a prolonged tour with more breathing space for the tourist team. But they don't want *that*...do they?

And lastly, what about the 'heat' in India? How many of you think that the English would not have complained about a conspiracy of too many 'South Indian heat' venues had they got a test and a clutch of ODIs down there?

Gatting believes England are likely to be more affected by the weather in India than in Pakistan.

He said: "I've got some very strong memories of Madras, when I played there and it was 90 degrees and 90% humidity.

"It was very draining and hard to play in. You've just got to get into your head that you have to accept it."