England cricket team arrive in Chennai for Fifth Test against India despite Cyclone Vardah ripping through region
ENGLAND’s preparations for the fifth test match in Chennai have been hit by the cyclone chaos striking the Indian city.
Cyclone Vardah has damaged the MA Chidambaram Stadium as 100mph winds rocked the city, flattening homes.
Chennai has been devastated by Cyclone Vardah, which has killed at least 10 people this weekGetty Images
Amid the disarray, England cancelled training at the ground under the advice of the local cricket association.
The floodlights at the ground along with sightscreen and air conditioning units have all been badly damaged – as have some floodlight bulbs.
A man stands on a fallen tree that fell on a vehicle after it was uprooted by strong winds in ChennaiReuters
But the pitch and outfield are said to be untouched, meaning the match will go ahead as planned, starting on Friday.
The two teams travelled from to Chennai as planned on Tuesday, but there was visible signs of the devastation on the way to the hotels by the storm, which left at least 12 people dead.
Men walk along a flooded street in Chennai as Cyclone Vardah damaged buildingsGetty Images
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As the teams flew in, they will have passed over miles upon miles of flooded agricultural land and motorways in the city that were partly submerged in water.
Trees across the city were uprooted making roads impassable, while power and phone lines snapped, adding to the chaos – but the clear up operation was in full swing by the time the England team arrived.
While there were problems this week, there had been improvement when England arrived and the match will go aheadGetty ImagesTropical Cyclone Vardah has caused havoc in IndiaGetty Images
Kasi Viswanathan, the secretary of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, said: “The assuring part is that the pitch and the outfield has not been affected by the cyclone.
“But the sightscreen has been damaged. The bulbs have blown off, air conditioners damaged. There have been hundreds of tree trunks lying in the road leading up to the stadium.
Despite some damage, the MA Chidambaram Stadium is still fit to host the fifth Test on FridayWikipedia (Creative Commons)
“Our challenge is to set everything in order in the next two days. I am confident we will be able to set everything right.”
The Indian cricket board considered moving the Test match back to Mumbai, but the decision was made to press ahead as planned as authorities cleared up.
England were resoundingly beaten in the fourth Test to end any chance of drawing the seriesReuters
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