England`s Barmy Army of noisy fans were left with an empty feeling as their team slipped to defeat by Pakistan inside three days in a first Test played in a ghostly 25,000-capacity Dubai Stadium.
|Last Updated: Jan 20, 2012, 10:18 AM IST|Source: Bureau
Dubai: England`s Barmy Army of noisy fans were left with an empty feeling as their team slipped to defeat by Pakistan inside three days in a first Test played in a ghostly 25,000-capacity Dubai Stadium.
Dressed in England`s blue one-day colours, the Barmy Army, who follow their team around the world, outnumbered the Pakistani fans who struggle to get time off from their jobs in the Gulf State.
"It`s exciting to be here in the UAE, but the stands are silent," Graham Ffitch told reporters. "We hope to get real competition in the stands from the Indian fans when England go there in October this year."
England will tour Sri Lanka in April and face a real challenge to maintain their world number one Test status in the sub-continent, regarded as their weak point.
Things have not started well.
England crumbled against Saeed Ajmal on the first day of the first Test as the off-spinner took a career-best 7-55 to bundle the tourists out for 192.
Pakistan responded with 338, gaining a lead of 146, before England once again flopped with the bat, handing their opponents victory inside three days.
But despite England`s bad show, tour operators expect more English fans to descend on the UAE for the one-day series.
"We made all arrangements in conjunction with the tour operators to make it comfortable for the fans. We are keen in helping the promotion of sports tourism in the UAE," Maqbul Dudhia, Dubai Sports City general manager, told Gulf News.
The second Test will be played in Abu Dhabi (January 25-29), while the third Test returns to Dubai from February 3-7. The Tests will be followed by four one-day and three Twenty20 internationals.
PTI
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.