All set for India, England ODI at Kochi

Kochi, Dec 22 (IANS): All arrangements are falling into place for staging the second ODI match between India and England here Jan 15, 2013 at the Jawaharlal Nehru International stadium here, according to a Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) official.

Three pitches had been laid for the match, KCA sectretary T.C. Mathew said.

“One is made out of Hyderabad clay, the second one using red soil clay and the third one using clay sourced from near here at Vaikom. All the arrangements are almost complete and this time the sub-soil drainage system in the ground is also perfect,” Mathew added.

This is the only cricket stadium in the state to host international matches and the last one against Australia was washed out in October 2010.

The upcoming match is just the eighth international ODI to be played here in the last 14 years.

“The stadium has a seating capacity of 55,000 and ticket sales will start from Jan 3. We expect a full house including lot of British tourist as the state’s peak tourist season has just begun,” said Mathew.

The day-night match will commence at 12 noon, two hours ahead of the normal start because of the dew factor.

All eyes will be on local lad and Indian pacer S.Sreesanth if he can make it to the Indian team after a long layoff.

“I watched him today morning taking three wickets in the Ranji match against Jharkhand and he is bowling extremely well. If he makes it to the Indian team, then rest assured the Kochi match would be fun to watch,” said R.K.V. Gopakumar, chairman of selectors of the Kerala Ranji team.