India v England at Chennai, January 1973

There is not much cricket footage from my early years of following England on Youtube, but I have found this.

England won the first test on their 1972-3 tour of India, but lost the second. This video shows them losing the third. The last two tests were drawn, giving India a 2-1 victory.

England took four spinners on that tour. Norman Gifford and Pat Pocock are playing here, so Derek Underwood must have been injured. The fourth spinner in the party was Leicestershire's Jack Birkenshaw.

We would love to have such an embarrassment of riches today, particularly when you recall that a fifth spinner, Ray Illingworth (who missed this tour), came back into the team as captain in the summer of 1973.

The opening bowlers are Geoff Arnold and Chris Old, with Tony Greig as third seamer.

Arnold, who is still coaching at Surrey, is rather a forgotten figure, but he was a fine swing bowler. Only Jimmy Anderson and the young Ian Botham stand ahead of him in my experience.

Old was one of those bowlers who looked much faster live than on television.

It is nothing new for sides to find conditions much easier at home. When India came to England 18 months later, Arnold and Old skittled them for 42 at Lord's.