West of Eden

If Lord's is indeed the cathedral of cricket, the home of cricket or any other moniker it is deserving of, there is one pilgrimage the hardcore travelling cricket fan wants to make and that is to Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Lord's is on our doorstep but this holy grail seems ever elusive – England's last appearance there in a Test was 15 years ago before the Barmy Army came into existence. All of which makes our trip to Ahmedabad seem more galling.

Those of us who are fortunate enough to embark on every cricket tour that England play don't have to make the difficult decision of which tour to go on with limited time and money available. Some save years just for one tour, others have to choose between one or the other winter tour. And this winter that choice comes down to India v Caribbean. The average supporter is going to head for the sun-drenched beaches of the West Indies every time, which is understandable, but that choice was made a lot easier by the choice of host venues in India.

India is an incredible country – diverse, manic, culturally thrilling – and it's also one of the few Test playing nations with a wide variety of Test venues. Yet sadly no-one's getting too excited about either of the winter destinations. I'm trying my best to keep an open mind on Ahmedabad, but as Scyld Berry is quoted on this very site describing it as "without doubt the most unpopular venue on the whole international cricket circuit" it's difficult to get excited about it. It is not just purely because Ahmedabad is a dry state that there will not be a huge Barmy Army presence at that Test, but the fact it has little else to offer. Mumbai is certainly a more attractive option, but means returning to a venue we were at just a couple of years ago.

And before you think this is just a whinge about me not getting to go where I want to go like a sultry teenager asking his parents to go to Disneyland when they want to visit Dorset, there is a wider issue here. Before you go thinking I'm an ungrateful sod who should be glad to have the chance to visit these places in the first place, which I am (glad, not ungrateful that is) it's just that as Test cricket battles against the onslaught of Twenty20 it would have a better chance if it was made a more attractive proposition to attend.

The fourth Test between India and Australia was played in a beautiful stadium in Nagpur. Unfortunately it was empty because it's 12 kilometres out of town and tickets are three times the average daily wage. The IPL recognised the need to fill stadia to get people excited about the tournament and to make the spectacle look more attractive on television and introduced measures to make it happen. If we do the same for Tests, whether making it more affordable to locals and more attractive to potential overseas supporters, we might just get the fans flowing back... and I might just get that trip to Eden Gardens at some point.