India, England call off training amid cyclone chaos

AFP, NEW DELHI: The England and Indian training sessions were cancelled Wednesday owing to unfit ground conditions at the MA Chidambaram stadium in cyclone-battered Chennai which hosts the fifth and final Test from Friday.
Ten people were killed by Cyclone Vardah, the worst cyclonic storm to hit the tech hub in southern Tamil Nadu state in more than two decades. Trees and power supply lines were also uprooted when Vardah struck Monday.
The Indian team management told AFP the match would go ahead as scheduled while confirming that the practice session had been called off on Wednesday.
The pre-match press conferences and training would take place as scheduled on Thursday, it said.
The England team also said it had called off Wednesday's practice session and would now have bowling and fielding drills on Thursday.
Kashi Viswanathan, the secretary of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, said the cyclone had damaged the sight screen and other stadium property.
“The sight screen has been badly damaged, the bulbs of the floodlights blown off, a number of air conditioners also got damaged," he told the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency on Tuesday.
“The assuring part is that the pitch and the outfield has not been affected by the cyclone," he said.

India, England call off training amid cyclone chaos

AFP, NEW DELHI: The England and Indian training sessions were cancelled Wednesday owing to unfit ground conditions at the MA Chidambaram stadium in cyclone-battered Chennai which hosts the fifth and final Test from Friday. Ten people were killed by Cyclone Vardah, the worst cyclonic storm to hit the tech hub in southern Tamil Nadu state in more than two decades. Trees and power supply lines were also uprooted when Vardah struck Monday. The Indian team management told AFP the match would go ahead as scheduled while confirming that the practice session had been called off on Wednesday. The pre-match press conferences and training would take place as scheduled on Thursday, it said. The England team also said it had called off Wednesdays practice session and would now have bowling and fielding drills on Thursday. Kashi Viswanathan, the secretary of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, said the cyclone had damaged the sight screen and other stadium property. The sight screen has been badly damaged, the bulbs of the floodlights blown off, a number of air conditioners also got damaged, he told the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency on Tuesday. The assuring part is that the pitch and the outfield has not been affected by the cyclone, he said.