A Passage from India

Our World cup correspondent Big Harvey reports on opening World Cup game. We also here about an ardous journey, chaotic organisation and a dangerous weapon. 

My trip didn't get off to the most auspicious start, as I forgot my Blackberry and therefore the details of all my contacts. The check-in for my Air India flight from London to Delhi was extremely chaotic, too. There seemed to be no logical queueing system in place, or if there was, I certainly didn't understand it, and neither did anyone else. On top of that I have never seen so much luggage in a check-in “queue” (or more accurately scrum)!

Despite the fact I'd heard nothing but bad things about Air India however, everything else about the flight was fine, especially the amazing amount of legroom they offer in economy. I arrived in Delhi having had a surprising amount of sleep only  to discover that the long-awaited Airport Express Metro train which was supposed to have been open for the Commonwealth Games had missed yet another deadline for opening! A prepaid taxi to New Delhi train station it was then.

I had about four and a half hours to kill before my train to Nagpur, so I first headed upstairs to the International Tourist Bureau for a spot of crafty queue jumping. I should explain that by the time the venue for the India v England match was changed from Calcutta to Bangalore at short notice, one of the trains that featured in my revised plan was already waitlisted. However Indian Railways operates a quota system, and many trains have a small quota for foreign tourists. This quota can't be booked on-line though, and there are only 3 or 4 booking offices in the entire country that admit to being able to sell these tickets. Because of that, if your train's waitlisted and you're not certain of having a place on it, it's always worth checking the availability of foreign tourist quota tickets if you should happen to be near one of these offices. It turned out that my train had availability on the Foreign Tourist Quota, and I was able to secure the berth I wanted. Result!

Feeling pleased with myself I headed into the nearby bazaar to seek out a spot of lunch. I eventually managed to find a small place recommended in the Lonely Planet, and  had just ordered my food when who should appear at the door but my old friend QPR Danny! Coincidences such as this are not uncommon when touring, since independent budget travellers tend to frequent the same kind of places. What was slightly more remarkable though was the fact that not only was he on the same train as me to Nagpur, but was in the same compartment in the bunk below mine!

Arriving in Nagpur the following morning (the day before the game), I checked into The Hotel Blue Diamond. Not great, but then again budget hotels in India seldom are. A working TV would have been nice, as would a shower head, and maybe hot water. Cold “showers” with a bucket were bearable, but only just.

The new ground in Nagpur is a long way out of town, perhaps 18-20 km. I spoke to an England fan who'd been down there to pick up his ticket ordered for venue pick-up through Kyazoonga, the ICC's official ticket agency. He arrived to find no tickets there. An ICC official told him that the pick-up place had been moved to “somewhere in town,” but not even he knew where. He was very apologetic and embarrassed, and gave our England fan two complimentary tickets. Others who made the trip were not so lucky.

I therefore decided to buy a ticket from a bank near my hotel, just in case my Kyazoonga ticket proved impossible to get hold of. In the event, arriving at the ground, there was a bizarre-looking little hut-cum-shed that someone had banged together out of scrap timber labelled “Kyazoonga Ticket Office” or something similar. There was no queue, and I presented my internet booking slip. It took eight minutes for my ticket to be handed to me! It absolutely beggars belief how chaotic things are going to be in Bangalore for the India match where literally tens of thousands of tickets have been sold over the internet.

Anyway, to the game:

It was a 2.30 start, and when the Dutch won the toss and batted, we fully expected to be back in Central Nagpur in the pub by 7. We hadn't reckoned for an ultra-flat pitch, a dismal English performance in the field, and some excellent batting from the minnows, which allowed the Dutch to set an extremely competitive looking target of 293!

Anderson opened the bowling for England, and looked decidedly out-of-sorts, as worryingly he often does when the ball's not swinging. By midway through the second over of his spell, England skipper Andrew Strauss had dispensed with a slip, and he would have to wait a while to be given his third over.

The Dutch batsmen had looked in no trouble whatsoever until Kerveeze fell after getting cramped for room by a leg side Bresnan delivery which looped through to Prior behind the stumps, bringing the delightfully named Tom Cooper, (or as he was immediately nicknamed “Tommy” Cooper by the small English contingent) to the crease.

At this point I got hassled by a steward for the heinous crime of bringing a pen into the ground! I remonstrated that pens were not on the (very long) list of things that weren't allowed into the ground – a list that included such deadly items as water, mobile phones, remote control car keys, and binoculars. Eventually he agreed not to confiscate my precious Bic biro it as long as I was discreet.

The Dutch score at the end of 11 overs was a very useful 57-1, but Swann was introduced into the attack, and as so often happens his first over produced a wicket, Barresi falling to a very marginal stumping, which was given out on referral.

Although the introduction of Collingwood at the other end helped slow the run rate, the Dutch  hundred came up after 22.5 overs, with both batsmen looking well set and in no trouble whatsoever. Union Dave sitting in front of me observed that apart from the stumping, England hadn't beaten the bat once!

Although generally it looked to be slower bowlers who were most effective on this pitch, both batsmen took a liking to KP. Tommy Cooper cut him for 4. It's often said “never cut a spinner or pat a burning dog,” but when the ball's that short, wide, and sitting up, begging to be hit, it's difficult not to, really. Ryan ten Doeschate also got in on the act, going down the pitch and launching him on  the full into the crowd for 6 over mid on.

Just when both Dutchmen were looking really menacing, Tommy Cooper's magic deserted him as he was snapped up by Anderson at short mid on off Collingwood. He had batted really well, and will have been disappointed to get out “just like that,” three short of his half century.

After 30 overs the score had reached 142/3, and England's fielding was looking decidedly ragged, as Anderson and KP left a ten Doeschate skier to each other. Ten Doeschate made England pay, bringing up his 50 shortly afterwards.

England then wasted a review to a ball that was shown to have passed absolutely nowhere near the inside edge of a Dutch bat. Still, as Union Dave pointed out, at last England had beaten the bat, even if it had taken them 31.5 overs to do it!

Zuiderent fell cheaply to Swann, giving a leading edge to short mid on, but this brought de Grooth to the crease, who entertained the crowd with some very modern strokeplay, including an audacious reverse sweep off Swann and a Dil-scoop off Collingwood, both of which reached the boundary.

The 200 came up off 41.1 overs.

De Grooth's departure for 28 (castled by a Broad slower ball through the gate) only led to ten Doeschate going on the attack, with a glorious cover drive off Bresnan bringing oohs and ahhhs from even the most partisan England supporters.

His deserved hundred - coming from another farcical piece of England fielding resulting in overthrows - brought everyone to their feet.

After Anderson had wasted England's final review on a fruitless LBW appeal, his next ball was a waist-high full toss to the boundary. He really had lost the plot.

Even after ten Doeschate's departure for a magnificent 119 off 110 deliveries, caught on the square leg boundary by Bopara off the bowling of Broad, there was still time for further fielding embarrassment for England. Broad appeared to have accounted for the plucky Borren by clean bowling him, but with the new batsman coming down the steps and Borren within a couple of feet of the boundary, he was called back and after deliberation, “no-ball” was signalled. England had too many fielders outside the circle!

To make matters even worse, the final over brought yet another no-ball for the same reason, and a dropped sitter on the Boundary by Swann. It really was a wretched display of fielding. To put it into perspective, the target of 293 would require the 3^rd highest successful run chase in World Cup history!

I went and sought out food and was happy to see no evidence of the overpriced rip-offs that blighted the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean. It was local snacks for local people at local prices, which is exactly how it should be. Plastic bags of water were given away free. So not everything about this competition is as badly organised as the ticketing and construction work.

As far as beating the bat went, Bukhari managed it with the first ball of the innings! Quite a contrast from England's efforts, and one or two more were to go past the edge. Thankfully for England, the Dutch bowlers, despite bowling excellently to Pietersen, strayed onto Strauss's legs too often. This enabled England to get off to a cracking start, and helped the Middlesex man to play a captain's innings, which cured the nerves.

Strauss's 50 came off just 34 balls, although it was KP who had the lion's share of the strike, and the latter was being quite effectively contained.

The England 100 took 17 overs, and with no wickets down, England were looking very well placed. KP's departure four balls later, dollying a catch to cover off Seelaar, who is (yes, you've guessed it) a slow left armer slowed the run rate somewhat, and just when England were starting to look comfortable again, Strauss fell for 88, skying a catch to square leg off Bukhari. Another slowdown took place as Bell joined Trott at the crease

Although Trott was able to accelerate, Bell wasn't, and the England fans were starting to get decidedly nervous. To make matters worse, none of us won the Yahoo “Face in the Crowd” competition in which the winner (whose image appeared on the Big Screen) had to claim their prize by phoning a number given out by the stadium commentator. To do this you would presumably either have to ring the number on a (banned) mobile phone or write the number down with a (banned - apparently) pen!

Such was the tension that Trott's 50 passed unnoticed by the stadium commentator, the crowd, and seemingly the batsman himself! Although stadium commentators are annoying, sadly this is one ground where one is necessary, since the scoreboard is too small to be properly read from the other side of the ground without (banned) binoculars.

With 10 overs left England had reached 222/2, and although there were wickets in hand, the inability to find the boundary during the final power play was a worry. When man-of-the match ten Doeschate accounted for Trott (brilliantly stumped off a wide by Barresi), and Bell (33 - only one boundary), an upset was very much on the cards, especially when the asking rate at one stage crept over 8 runs per over. However Collingwood and Bopara between them found the boundary often enough to see England home.

The difference between  the two sides was really the bowling of Swann, the one English bowler who did have a good game, and the apparent weakness of the Dutch bowlers against left-handers. The Dutch fielding was so superior to that of England's that it was downright embarrassing. If England bowl and field like that on Sunday against the likes of Sehwag and Tendulkar, the prospect doesn't bear thinking about.