Paying fans put out by change of start time for Asian broadcasters

The England and Wales Cricket Board has been urged to consider ticket-buying supporters after changing the start time for the India Test to gain more exposure with Asian broadcasters.

The rearranged fifth Test begins tomorrow half an hour earlier than usual at 10.30am. Many supporters discovered the news only at the weekend when it was reported in the media. An ECB spokesman said the decision was made to give the match greater exposure in India and not overlap with the Vitality Blast matches in the evening.

The match at Edgbaston will begin at 3pm in India, better suiting broadcasters, but it means supporters who had already booked train tickets could miss the start of play. The Blast regularly clashes with Test cricket.

“The rationale behind the start being brought forward seems reasonable, but we can’t help but feel the impact on fans attending the match hasn’t been fully considered,” Becky Fairlie-clarke, chief executive of the Cricket Supporters’ Association, said.

“We know that trains are booked and plans are made well in advance and so this change is inconvenient for some supporters coming to the ground. We’d urge the ECB to always consider those who have paid to be there and obviously want to see a full day’s play.” A spokesman for the Barmy Army said: “More notice would have been ideal, but at least we have not learnt on the morning of the match like we did for the abandoned Test last year.”

The match was shifted from Emirates Old Trafford to Edgbaston in October last year.

Rohit Sharma, the India Test captain, is expected to miss the match with Covid, a bizarre coincidence given the Test last year was cancelled because of a Covid outbreak in their camp. Jasprit Bumrah is likely to lead India for the first time. Rohit’s deputy, KL Rahul, is injured. Rohit took over from Virat Kohli only this year as Test captain and was India’s best batsman in last summer’s series, averaging 52.

Ben Foakes will have a fitness test today after emerging from Covid isolation. He complained of a bad back during the Headingley Test before testing positive for Covid, with Sam Billings being called up as an official replacement.