Bungled ... or a calculated insult?

Scyld Berry finds that the itinerary outlined by the Indian board for England's tour in March has "confirmed the widespread view of cricket's most eccentric organisation".

Main venues where large crowds would be guaranteed and thousands of England supporters could be accommodated - like Madras, Bangalore, Delhi and Kolkata - are conspicuously absent from the schedule of three Tests and seven one-day internationals.

Instead, Ahmedabad and Nagpur have been selected.

Both are renowned for not being on the tourist route, and have only one hotel each that approaches international standard ... the board justified the venues by saying that they had a policy of rotation and that various associations take it in turns to stage home Test matches. The reality is that the board are overwhelmed by political squabbles and lawsuits.

And in the Times, Christopher Martin-Jenkins is equally unimpressed:

At best, the tour itinerary being proposed for the second half of England’s winter cricket is indicative of bungling by the Indian Cricket Board and weakness on the part of the ECB. At worst, it is evidence of a calculated insult to English cricket.