England team hopes to salvage pride - rains permitting

30 November -0001

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Thick and ominous greyish-black clouds are threatening to burst here and play spoilsport in the fifth of the seven-match one-day series between India and England Sunday.

India, having already clinched the series by winning the first four matches, would try to make a clean sweep if the game does take place at the Nehru Stadium here in Assam's main city of Guwahati. The two teams are arriving Saturday afternoon.

The outfield at the 21,000-capacity stadium is "not encouraging", although the pitch is well covered. Spells of heavy showers in the past six days do not augur well for the English team, which is hoping to salvage some pride by winning the remaining three games, including the one here.

"The pitch is not a problem and is still very good. If we have no further rains, then we expect to have a good match although the outfield as of now is slightly damp," curator Sunil Baruah said.

"The sun is peeping in and out today although there are heavy clouds. If it does not rain we would definitely have a match."

"The wicket is sporting and one can expect a score of around 250-plus if play does not get interrupted due to rains," Baruah said.

With India already having won the series and the rains beating down heavily, the enthusiasm among the locals here remains rather low.

"Ticket sales are not very encouraging. We are hoping for the sun to shine brightly," an Assam Cricket Association (ACA) official said.

At least 6,000 tickets still remain unsold with people waiting for the cloud cover to clear and hoping the sun to come blazing down for the match in this picturesque city located on the banks of the great Asian Brahmaputra river.

"We have got a match after a long time and wanted to enjoy the game. But then it depends on the weather gods," said Rontu Bhuyan, a young cricket enthusiast, said.

But the weather forecast for Sunday is not bright. "A partly cloudy sky in the morning with thunderstorms in the afternoon," the weather bulletin said.

Scores of officials and groundsmen are working overtime to ensure the playing area is well protected with a spell of heavy showers for about an hour Friday night.

"We have spread at least a hundred tarpaulin sheets over the 30-yard area," one of the groundsmen said. The weather notwithstanding, the curator is optimistic of a sporting wicket in the event of a full match Sunday.

In past ODIs here, bad light prompted umpires to curtail the number of overs. In 1993, the ODI between India and Zimbabwe was curtailed to 28 overs due to bad weather. Morning dew in four other ODIs played here resulted in delayed starts.

"We have insured the match for Rs.6 million and if no ball is bowled then the crowd gets a refund of their tickets," the ACA official said.

The two teams are expected to have a look at the pitch upon arrival in the city late afternoon.

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