India’s increasingly ill-tempered tour of England continued as head coach Gautam Gambhir engaged in an angry exchange with Surrey‘s head groundsman ahead of Thursday’s deciding Test.
While England decided to take a break two days out from the fifth and final match of a tetchy series, India were back in the nets at the Kia Oval as they attempt to salvage a 2-2 draw.
But even with Ben Stokes and company absent, it did not take long for tensions to flare in south London. Gambhir, who can expect to face serious scrutiny over his position if England claim another victory, was seen sharing terse words with Lee Fortis, Surrey’s lead curator.
Gambhir, a 58-Test veteran, was caught on camera wagging his finger as Fortis towered over him, repeatedly stating: “You can’t tell us what to do” and “You don’t tell any of us what to do”.
The Spat
Gambhir can also be heard adding: “You’re just the groundsman, nothing beyond.”
Fortis, who has been named as the ECB’s grounds manager of the year for the last three seasons, is understood to have been keeping a protective eye on the square during India’s practice with plenty of cricket still to be played on it once the international summer is over. Gambhir did not take kindly to his intervention.
After walking away in conversation with India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, who appeared to take on the role of mediator, Fortis told Gambhir he may be forced to lodge complaint against him, drawing a response of: “You can go and report to whoever you want”.
Speaking later to the press, Kotak told reporters Fortis’ objections to a coolbox being wheeled on to the square kicked off the spat.
Groundsman Perspective
“He was sitting on the roller, he shouted and told the support staff not to take it there,” he said.
“It is good to be a little possessive and it is also good to be protective, but not that much. Gautam just said do not talk to the support staff like this.
“If you want me to be very honest, most of the team knows that the curator is not the easiest person to get on with. So, that gives a lot of answers. When you’re working with very intelligent and highly-skilled people, if you sound a bit arrogant or if you come across like…you can be protective. At the end of the day it is a cricket pitch. It is not an antique where you can’t touch.”
Whether India’s frustrations included concerns over the Test pitch as well as their training provisions is not known but the Oval deck is expected to carry some live grass at the start of the game and provide greater pace and bounce than in the previous four matches.
England’s attack has struggled for cut through at times, not least in the last innings at Old Trafford, where they mustered just four wickets in 143 overs.
Tension
India’s rearguard ended in rancour, with Stokes annoyed that Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja declined his offer of an early handshake as they each pursued centuries.
Both men reached three figures, but did so with some persistent sledging in their ears from England fielders.
Relations between the teams had been relatively serene until a time-wasting row midway through the third Test at Lord’s, where Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett were treated to some X-rated words from India captain Shubman Gill.
England responded by accusing Gill of running down the clock himself during his own innings and Mohammed Siraj was fined for his furious send off of Duckett the next morning, though a brief shoulder to shoulder contact between the two was accepted as accidental.
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