TNT Sports confirm plan for India vs England series after first day criticism
TNT Sports have committed to improving their coverage of England’s Test series against India after being bombarded with complaints on day one.
Viewers, who are paying a minimum of £18 per month, were greeted with a bare-bones production when they tuned in early on Thursday morning. TNT Sports had no pundits in a studio or any analysis, with presenter Matt Floyd simply talking over highlights in between sessions as England were bowled out for 246 before India reached stumps on 119-1.
TNT Sports only agreed a deal with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) last week and, with little time to get things in place, they simply took the feed from the host broadcaster. That decision left viewers angry and frustrated.
“No studio coverage on TNT sport?! What a shambles. No studio, no analysis, absolute joke @tntsports,” one cricket fan tweeted. Another wrote: “Watching #INDvENG on TNT. No studio, no analysis, no guests… We're paying through the nose for rubbish!!” One concluded: “Proper budget presentation of the cricket from TNT. Sports tv production gets worse and worse.”
TNT Sports have confirmed that they will make changes for the second Test, which begins on Friday, February 2. They are expected to draft in former England Test captain Sir Alastair Cook and ex-fast bowler Steven Finn as pundits to enhance their offering.
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“The proximity between the agreement to show England’s Tour of India on TNT Sports and the start of the series has meant we have been unable to implement our usual pre-production process for the first Test from Hyderabad," a spokesperson said. "However, we will have an on-screen team in place as usual for the remainder of the series who will be able to offer expert insights and analysis for fans watching on TNT Sports.
“We’re excited to be bringing all of the action live from Thursday on TNT Sports and discovery+, including timeline markers, a brand new innovation meaning fans can catch up on every key moments from the day’s play.”
It was a bad start to the series for the broadcaster – and England did not fare much better, with India finishing day one firmly on top. The visitors won the toss and chose to bat in Hyderabad and started in a typically positive fashion before two batting collapses struck.
Tom Hartley was smashed by India's Yashasvi Jaiswal on his debut (Stu Forster/Getty Images)They lost three wickets for five runs to reach lunch at 60-3 and later slipped from 121-3 to 155-7 as batters got in but couldn’t push on. Zak Crawley (20), Ben Duckett (35), Joe Root (29) and Jonny Bairstow (37) were all dismissed by India’s spinners on a turning track.
Ben Stokes showed some resistance, hitting 70 while batting alongside the tail before he was cleaned up by Jasprit Bumrah to end the innings. It was then all about Yashasvi Jaiswal, who dismantled England debutant left-arm spinner Tom Hartley, who went for 63 from his nine overs after being given the new ball by Stokes.
Jaiswal smashed Hartley’s first ball in Test cricket for six and kept his foot down to finish on 76 not out from 70 balls at the end of the day’s play, with Shubman Gill (14 not out) at the other end after Rohit Sharma skied one to Stokes to give Jack Leach England’s only wicket after they burnt all three of their reviews inside 14 overs.
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