Tensions boiled over ahead of England’s final Test with India as visiting coach Gautam Gambhir hit out at The Oval groundsman Lee Fortis. Fortis was unhappy with India using the majority of The Oval’s square for their Tuesday morning training session.
The groundsman is also believed to have been concerned with how close some Indian players were getting to the pitch. During a heated exchange on the turf, Gambhir wagged his finger and fumed: “You don’t tell us what to do, you’re just a groundsman… You’re just a groundsman, nothing beyond that.”
After Fortis, who has won groundsman of the year for the past three years, threatened to launch a complaint, Gambhir continued: “You can go and report to whoever you want, but you can’t tell us what to do.”
Speaking moments after the incident, Fortis said: “I don’t know the man [Gambhir], I’ve never met him before today…
“You saw what he was like this morning. There’s no sides to the story… We’ve nothing to hide here… I don’t want to be rude.”
The pair had to be separated by India’s batting coach, Sitanshu Kotak, and other members of staff.
Kotak dubbed the altercation “awkward”, admitting he found the request from the ground staff unusual.
He said: “When some of us coaches went to see the wicket, a member of the ground staff said stay away at least 2.5 metres, which was a little surprising.
“Because it is the pitch, the match is starting day after, it will be a five-day Test, and we’re standing in our joggers, so we felt a little awkward.
“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, but at the end of the day it is a cricket pitch.
“It is not an antique where you can’t touch, because otherwise if it is 200 years old it can be broken.”
It comes just days after the England players were caught up in the middle of a row with Indian batters Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja, after captain Ben Stokes attempted to shake hands early. Sundar and Jadeja were both chasing hundreds at the time – which they went onto achieve – with the move sparking a debate about the ‘spirit of cricket’.
Speaking after the Manchester Test, Stokes said: “I don’t think there would’ve been too much more satisfaction from walking off a hundred not out, getting your team out of a tricky situation, than walking off at 80, 90 not out. That’s what you’ve done for your team. You know, the 10 more runs or whatever it was ain’t gonna change the fact that you’ve managed to get your team out of a very, very, very tricky situation and almost saved your team from a series defeat before the last game.”
England and India renew their rivalry for the final time this week, with day one of the fifth Test pencilled in for Thursday.