With a heatwave scheduled and England’s ODI team on fire after a comprehensive drubbing away to the Netherlands, the temperature in The Green Room was set to rise quickly as world champions England took on India in the 1st ODI of the series at The Kia Oval.
First into The Green Room as always were our England cricket legends Darren Gough and Steve Harmison, eager to meet guests and see how the day of top-class international cricket unfolded. Following shortly behind were England 2019 world cup winner Chris Woakes and current England batsmen Ollie Pope, who has played an important role in the recent ‘Baz Ball’ Test cricket revival. Arriving fashionably late and full of the cheeky charm we’ve come to love was none other than ‘The Cat’ Phil Tufnell who completed are line-up cricketing legends…that was until England legend Mike Gatting also paid us a visit.
With expectant guests now streaming into The Green Room, the Champagne was flowing, and the warm weather certainly added to the high spirits! The smell of Atul Kochhar’s food was emanating around the room, with the ‘Spice Master’ himself in the kitchen with his team of chefs, ensuring each dish was delivered to the exacting standards you would expect from one of the UK’s most inspirational Michelin-starred chefs.
After enjoying banter and insight from our esteemed cricketing panel it was time for the delectable dishes to make their way out of the kitchen and what a sight it was! A barrage for the senses, there could not have been a better culinary accompaniment to an England v India cricket match. Simply magnificent and it was even better to hear from Atul himself regarding the dishes he’d chosen and why cooking at The Kia Oval was so important to him.
Revelling in the Green Room experience were the likes of former Arsenal invincible Martin Keown, SkySports boxing duo Adam Smith and Spencer Oliver, Dan Renton Skinner of Angelos Epithemiou fame, England rugby star Max Malins plus Welsh comedy legend Rob Brydon and it was fantastic to hear from them all throughout the day.
The cricket however did not begin in ideal fashion – with England losing the toss and being sent into bat, the wickets began to tumble left, right and centre with England all out for a paltry 110, their lowest ever ODI score against India, with captain Jos Buttler top scoring with just 30. As India captain Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan came out to bat, it was immediate this game was not going to last long as they quickly began chasing down England’s meagre total. In less than 20 overs, Sharma had blazed 76 runs, ably backed up with a 31 from Dhawan and India had won the match!
Despite the result, the atmosphere in The Green Room could not be dampened and it was a brilliant day of entertainment even if the men on the field couldn’t quite fulfil their bit! We can’t wait to welcome you back to The Green Room again and the next time we’ll be at The Kia Oval is when England take on South Africa in the final Test Match of the summer – find out more here.
Check out the highlights of the day below ⬇⬇⬇
