Read up on all the action from inside The Green Room at the England v India 4th Test Match.
The highly anticipated Test Series between England and India was finely balanced at 1-1 with two matches to play – that was until five fantastic days at the iconic Kia Oval, which not only provided some wonderful cricket but also showed exactly why The Green Room is the best VIP cricket experience available anywhere.
Day one began in gloomy conditions, but the somewhat grey weather certainly didn’t affect the spirits of our Green Room guests who could not wait to get in and enjoy the hospitality and entertainment! Cricketing legends Darren Gough, Steve Harmison, Michael Vaughan, Graham Gooch, and Mike Gatting provided some excellent insight into the forthcoming action, whilst Mark Durden-Smith was his usual cheeky self, poking fun at our celebrity friends of The Green Room and guests alike! We were joined by the likes of Rory Bremner and Dominic West plus two titans of the culinary world – our chef patron in The Green Room at Twickenham, Marcus Wareing and the first Indian chef to gain a Michelin star, Atul Kochhar who were suitably impressed not only with the food, but with the English bowling display which saw India all out for 191 in their first innings. Sadly, the English batsmen didn’t have much luck either, with England stumbling to 53-3 at close of play.
Despite the loss of Joe Root just before stumps on day one, day two began poorly as well with both Dawid Malan and nightwatchmen Craig Overton falling early. The loss of two English wickets certainly didn’t put a stop to the fun in The Green Room as guests continued to enjoy the entertainment, delicious bacon rolls and one or two glasses of bubbles as they socialised with friends, family, and business associates. We were joined on Friday not only by our ambassador Lawrence Dallaglio, Rugby World cup winning coach Sir Clive Woodward and three-time Ashes winner Ian Bell, but we also had a few famous faces from the non-sporting world join us. Hollywood superstar Hugh Grant, legendary chef Asma Khan (who gave the lamb curry her ultimate seal of approval) and TV star Richard Osman were just some of the celebs that you might have rubbed shoulders with on day two. On the pitch the match remained finely poised at close of play…a fighting knock of 81 from Ollie Pope and a quick fire 50 from Chris Woakes gave England a slim 99 run lead before KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma came out to the crease for the Indian 2nd innings.
As The Green Room is only open for the first three days of the Test Match, Day three was our last day and it began in much the same way as the previous two days – excited Green Room guests, revved up for the day ahead and getting stuck into both the cricket and the hospitality. Darren Gough’s throat was a little sore from all the chatting but that didn’t stop him from plenty more jokes and banter throughout the day! Goughie wasn’t too pleased though to see India’s Rohit Sharma make his first overseas century and then see Cheteshwar Pujara reach his half century. Ollie Robinson was able to take two wickets with the new ball at the end of the day, but a fine batting display had tipped the balance in favour of India. A thrilling third day of play was soaked up by our guests, who were joined by none other than Masterchef presenter Gregg Wallace, TV personality Nina Wadia, tennis legend Greg Rusedski and former England footballer Tom Cleverley.
Day three may have finished with India in commanding position, and they indeed went on to win the match with some quite ridiculous bowling from Jasprit Bumrah on Day five, but what a truly fantastic spectacle of Test Match cricket we witnessed. Top-class bowling, some astounding batting all combined with our VIP entertainment, cricket hospitality really doesn’t get better than that! Whilst we’re always sad to say goodbye at the end of the three days we will be back at the Kia Oval soon for Christmas Live but before that, just the small matter of the Autumn Internationals and three massive England rugby matches at Twickenham! We hope to see you there in The Green Room!
