England pacer James Anderson is 'gutted' that the fifth and final Test against India at his home ground in Manchester's Old Trafford was cancelled, bringing a premature end to the exciting series, which he said deserved a better finish.
The final match of the series was cancelled when a physio in the Indian camp tested positive ahead of the game, making the visiting players apprehensive, though all of them tested negative.
The 39-year-old Anderson also wondered whether he would get to play another Test match for England at his home ground.
"I'm gutted for everyone at Lancashire cricket, for the fans who paid for tickets/trains/hotels, for both sets of supporters that wanted to see the finish this series deserved," Anderson said on Instagram.
"I hope it will be played again at some point and I hope I will get to play another international game at my home ground that I love so much," he added.
Indian cricketers, led by skipper Virat Kohli, refused to play as they were apprehensive about testing positive in the incubation period which would have coincided with the Test match dates between September 12-16.
All the Indian cricketers contracted with IPL franchises left for Dubai the following day after Test match was cancelled.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has officially written to the ICC to decide the fate of the cancelled fifth Test against India, indicating that the two boards are far from reaching a settlement.
The ECB wants the ICC's Dispute Resolution Committee to address the issue and expect that a forfeiture would be granted so that they can claim insurance as they are going to lose 40 million pound if the match is declared abandoned due to COVID.
If the ICC rules the Test as abandoned, then India will win the series 2-1 but if England get a forfeiture as per the DRC ruling, it will be a 2-2 verdict and the host nation can also claim insurance.
