India v England: 'You may as well play on a beach - Chennai pitch not good enough for Test cricket'
- Published
Chennai also hosted the opening Test of the four-match series
The Chennai pitch for the second Test between India and England is not good enough for Test cricket.
With a lead of 249 and nine wickets still remaining in their second innings, the hosts are on course to level the series - and they have played some fine cricket.
But if every pitch was like this then there would be no point in playing the longer format.
Yes, you expect it to turn in India, but not like this; it was taking huge holes out of the pitch in the first hour of the first day.
You may as well go and play on a beach.
We want Tests to last five days
I am taking nothing away from India's performance; we can look back at Rohit Sharma's knock of 161 in the first innings and appreciate just how remarkable it was.
Ravichandran Ashwin - who took 5-34 - also showed that England's spinners are not nearly as consistent as their India counterparts.
However, you should not have a pitch which is producing an unplayable delivery like the one Ben Stokes got - when he was bowled by Ashwin for 18 - before we are even halfway through the second day.
I understand we want contrasting pitches and conditions around the world and do not want Test cricket to be formulaic; each country needs to have its own identity.
But we also want Tests to last five days.
There are countries, including England, who produce grassy pitches to start with so the ball moves around off the seam to suit the quicker bowlers.
But those surfaces tend to flatten out over the course of the Test. The problem with starting with a pitch which is very dry and warm, like the one in Chennai, is that it does not get better.
The ideal scenario is a pitch which offers something for the quick bowlers to start with, flattens out and then spins later in the match, not from the very start.
Groundsmen do get it wrong
I understand that groundsmen do get it wrong sometimes and this is not a personal accusation against any team or individual.
Some people may also think it is a case of sour grapes but my opinion has nothing to do with the tourists being on the receiving end of it; I've criticised England as strongly as I have criticised anyone else.
When you see something that is not right or in the game's interest then you have to speak up - it is important for Tests to have the potential to go on for five days, there is so much at stake.
With this series broadcast on free-to-air TV in the UK, we have an opportunity for people to watch and be immersed in cricket.
There is a responsibility to preserve Test cricket as it is finding itself under threat form other sources.
It may be that the best side does win this match and series. However this pitch is not suitable for Test cricket and I would strongly take issue with anyone who says that it is.
What will the ICC do about it?
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has to be strong enough to take action if Test pitches are not of a suitable quality.
That applies in England, Australia or anywhere in the world.
With the finals of the World Test Championship - which is supposed to be the whole reason for Test cricket these days - taking place at Lord's in the summer, the ICC should deduct points from the teams if pitches are not up to scratch.
Just as they have with slow over-rates, there should be a penalty system in place.
However, I've looked through the regulations and cannot see anything which suggests that points will be deducted for poor pitches.
The pressure is off India's batsmen
Rohit Sharma (left) is unbeaten on 25 and and Cheteshwar Pujara on 7 with India 54-1, a lead of 249
India will press on from here and smash the ball all over the place on day three, and people may say that is exactly how England should have played.
But the way Virat Kohli's men bat now is not a reflection of the conditions - the game has moved on.
India started their second innings with a lead of nearly 200, there is no pressure on them at all and it does not matter if they get out playing expansive shots.
We expect India to wrap up this Test and then the focus will be on a day-night third Test in Ahmedabad.
England will probably bring James Anderson back and hope that the ball might do a bit under the lights on a dewy evening in Western India.
We shall wait and see if another pitch is prepared like this one.
Jonathan Agnew was speaking to BBC Sport's Kal Sajad.