England begins India tour at new Test venues

NEW DELHI — Two cricketing backwaters that have never hosted a Test match before will stage the opening salvos of England’s high-profile five-match series against India later this year, officials said Friday. The cities of Rajkot and Visakhapatnam will host the first two matches of what is England’s first ever five-Test tour of India that begins on Nov. 9, according to a schedule likely to disappoint traveling fans. The other three Tests will be held in more established venues in Mohali, Mumbai and Chennai, the city formerly known as Madras which will be the venue for the final Test from Dec. 16-20. Rajkot’s Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium has only ever previously hosted two One-Day Internationals while the Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association Stadium has staged four limited overs matches. Neither Rajkot in the northwestern state of Gujarat nor Visakhapatnam on India’s southeast coast are popular tourist hangouts and are not obvious destinations for England’s legion of fans known as the Barmy Army. Although India’s board had not previously given the dates for each match, it announced in June that both Rajkot and Visakhapatnam would be part of a push to take Test cricket “to every corner of the country.” India will play 13 Tests in total during the coming season, the most since the 1979-80 home season, along with eight ODIs and three T20 internationals. Alastair Cook’s England team pulled off a shock 2-1 series victory on their last Test tour of India in 2012, which included a win at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, which will host the fourth Test this time. After wrapping up the Test tour just before Christmas, England will return in January for three ODIs and two T20s matches, led by limited overs skipper Eoin Morgan. India is currently second in the Test rankings behind Australia. Fourth-placed England can move up a spot if it wins its ongoing home series against third-placed Pakistan. Pakistan buys bulletproof buses to woo back visiting teams The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has bought four bulletproof buses as it tries to convince other teams to shed their security apprehensions and visit the country. Pakistan has largely been shunned by teams since 2009 when gunmen attacked a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers, injuring six players and killing six security personnel and two civilians. The incident has forced Pakistan to play its ‘home’ matches at the United Arab Emirates and the country has since remained starved of international cricket at home, barring Zimbabwe’s limited-overs tour in 2015. “We have bought these four Coaster buses as part of our efforts to revive international cricket in the country,” a PCB spokesman told ESPNcricinfo. “There will be high expectations from teams willing to visit Pakistan and we want to ensure that we provide them with the best possible arrangements. “Having these bulletproof vehicles would play a major part in convincing teams (about security arrangements).” The spokesman said PCB wanted to host the final of the Pakistan Super League, the inaugural edition of which was held in UAE earlier this year. “We have to have discussions with the (overseas) players about their safety and security and I think this new addition in our security facilities will definitely give us an edge,” the spokesman said. “Our ultimate goal is to revive international cricket, and we are doing our best to make sure we can.”