India-England Old Trafford Test not cancelled due to IPL, says ECB

The England and Wales Cricket Board has denied that the final Test against India at Old Trafford was cancelled due to the tourists' fears that delaying the match could affect their involvement in the rescheduled Indian Premier League (IPL).

The fifth and final Test at Old Trafford was cancelled barely two hours before its scheduled start on Friday after the tourists failed to field a side following a Covid-19 case in their camp.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan suggested that Indian players were "petrified" of testing positive ahead of the IPL, which resumes on September 19 in the UAE, but ECB chief executive Tom Harrison said he did not believe that was the case.

"This is not a situation which has been created by the rescheduled IPL ... That's not the case. This Indian cricket team are as passionate about Test cricket as fans in our country are and as our cricket team are as well," Harrison told BBC Sport.

"India simply felt that they got to a point where they weren't able to take to the field. That is understandable.

"As administrators, we need to be really clear that mental health has to be a priority for us when we're thinking about the length of tours and the conditions under which people were expected to perform."

India went into the match with a 2-1 lead in the five-game series after their 157-run win at The Oval on Monday.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India said it was working towards finding a window to reschedule the match "jointly decided" by both boards .

India simply felt that they got to a point where they weren't able to take to the field. That is understandable

Tom Harrison,
England and Wales Cricket Board

However, with the lucrative IPL, itself disrupted by Covid, set to restart in less than 10 days, the Test will not happen anytime soon.

Harrison said it was a "very sad day for Test cricket internationally" and added that the International Cricket Council (ICC) would adjudicate over whether the series is completed.

India are slated to tour England next year for a white-ball series, it could yet be slotted in at Old Trafford.

"We are looking forward to making sure that we can reschedule this match to some point in the near future," he told a news conference.

"Effectively whether that fifth match is null and void or whether it is actually regarded as something else, a forfeiture ... I don't know where that conversation goes, but it's not one for today."

ECB chief executive Tom Harrison walks around the Old Trafford pitch. Getty Images

Harrison also said the ECB could cope with the financial impact of a cancelled match having put mitigation strategies in place.

"Over the course of a season as complex as 2021 has been ... you're not always writing down 100% of expectation against every single day of that season. I think we've got sensible risk analysis," he added.

"This is a big blow but it's one that we will get over quickly from a financial perspective ... But the hit the fans have taken, that international Test cricket has taken at losing the fifth match in an iconic test series like this, that takes longer."

Meanwhile an enthralling series featuring three hundreds from England captain Joe Root, several fine innings from India's Rohit Sharma and bewitching bowling from the tourists spearhead, Jasprit Bumrah, had been denied a fitting finale and now seems set to be marked with an asterisk in Wisden, cricket's annual of record.

England v India: fourth Test player ratings

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  ENGLAND RATINGS: Rory Burns – 6. (5, 50) Set a platform for England in the second innings. The rest had been a struggle, with dropped catches, and a low score first time round. Getty

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  Haseeb Hameed – 6. (0, 63) Fought a plucky rearguard for two sessions of the fourth innings, but had another duck in the first innings and was involved in the Malan run out. Getty

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  Dawid Malan – 5. (31, 5) Run out during a mix up with Hameed on the last day when it was set up for him to make his name as a Test player. Getty

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  Joe Root – 6. (21, 36) A rare blank game for England’s captain. Even he couldn’t stem the tide on the final afternoon. Getty

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  Ollie Pope – 6. (81, 2) Made a bright return to the side in the first innings, but was powerless to repel Bumrah second time around. Getty

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  Jonny Bairstow – 5. (37, 0) Again fell short of the sort of a notable knock that would give his Test comeback substance. Getty

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  Moeen Ali – 5. (35, 0, [Did not bowl], 2-118) No significant contribution with the bat, and untrusted with the ball. Six catches in the match redeemed him somewhat. Getty

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  Chris Woakes – 8 (50, 18; 4-55, 3-83) Extraordinary return to Test cricket given how little of any sort of cricket he had played of late. Getty

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  Craig Overton – 5. (1-49, 1-58) Under-bowled when England’s attack were flagging in the second innings, suggesting a lack of confidence from his captain. Getty

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  Ollie Robinson – 7. (3-38, 2-105) Maybe it was just the docile nature of the pitch, but it looked as though his workload was finally catching up with him by the end of India’s second innings. Getty

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  James Anderson – 5. (1-41, 1-79) Looked even more world-weary than usual by the end. Is it possible he could have to sit out his home Test at Old Trafford? Getty

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  INDIA RATINGS: Rohit Sharma – 8. (11, 127) Another hefty contribution in a series full of them, with his first overseas ton. Getty

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  KL Rahul – 6. (17, 46) Fined 15 per cent of his match fee for dissent at his second-innings dismissal. Should not make too much difference to his bank balance. Getty

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  Cheteshwar Pujara – 7. (4, 61) A failure in the first innings, followed by a valiant contribution in the second – for the third Test in a row. Getty

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  Virat Kohli – 7. (50, 44) Two good starts, yet again no century. Had to make do without a coach to lean on at the vital phase of the game, but he thrived. AFP

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  Ravindra Jadeja – 7. (10, 17; 2-36, 2-50) Odd elevation in the batting order, but he did not let his side down with either bat or ball. Getty

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  Ajinkya Rahane – 4. (17, 0) A viable alternative to Kohli as captain a few months back. Now he will be lucky to keep his place. AP

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  Rishabh Pant – 7. (9, 50) A strike rate of 27 in the first innings and 47 shows he does have more than one way of playing. Getty

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  Shardul Thakur – 9. (57, 60; 1-54) A triumph. Two momentum-shifting half-centuries from No 8, and vital wickets of Pope in the first innings and Root in the second. Getty

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  Umesh Yadav – 8. (3-76, 3-60) Much like Woakes for England, he had a remarkable impact on his return, given his meagre game time in any form of cricket recently. Getty

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  Jasprit Bumrah – 8. (2-67, 2-27) The fact he took just four wickets in the match feels like a joke: his spell on the last afternoon broke open the game. AFP

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  Mohammed Siraj – 5. (1-42, 0-44) Ever willing, but lacking some of the zip of the early phase of the series. Could well get a break at Old Trafford. AFP