Temperatures in England have been unusually high this summer and heat waves were experienced in many parts of the country. To add to this, the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy has seen peak drama in the last two Tests and this has also contributed to a different kind of heat in the surroundings. Less than 48 hours since the spicy ending to the Manchester Test, there was more drama as the Indian side reached The Oval for their first practice session before the fifth Test.
As the visitors got into their groove during the nets session, head coach Gautam Gambhir got into a heated exchange with chief curator Lee Fortis. According to RevSportz Global, the nature of the incident couldn't be determined but Gambhir appeared to be triggered by Fortis's body language around the ground. Historically, Fortis has been known to have a few face-offs with opposition teams, albeit nothing of the serious kind. This could possibly have been a banter gone wrong.
The matter escalated in such a way that India's security head was told to have a chat with key people from the ECB and Surrey administration. While the nature of discussions continued to be intense, it did seem like the matter had been resolved, at least for now.
Media personnel at the ground later caught up with Fortis but the curator wasn't willing to divulge any details of the conversation with Gambhir. The Englishman, who has been the chief groundman of The Oval for a significant amount of time, did refer to Gambhir as a 'touchy person'. However, despite continous questions around the topic, Fortis chose not to reveal anything more regarding Gambhir or the incident. This incident shows the tone of the ongoing England-India series that has hit a flash point since the Lord's Test.
At the Home of Cricket on the third day, India's fielders led by captain Shubman Gill were miffed with England's openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett for alleged time-wasting towards the fag end of play. Gill had a go at Crawley and this forced Duckett to intervene, leading to more drama on the field. The aggression spilled over to the next two days of the Test that England won by 22 runs in thrilling fashion. At Old Trafford, it seemed to be a run fest all along but there also was theatrical stuffs galore. It reached the tipping point on the final day with Ben Stokes's request for a draw being turned down with just an hour's play left in the game.
A draw was a no-brainer from thereon but India chose to bat on, mostly due to Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja being closer to the three-figure mark. This irked Stokes who then bowled Harry Brook and Joe Root with extremely attacking fields to ensure that the batters get their milestones quickly. It all appeared a bit farcical towards the end and if Gambhir's antics against Fortis are any indication, we have more drama in store in The Oval Test as well.
As long as the quality of competition between the two teams remains at its peak, let's have more such drama please!