England vs India: Nottinghamshire respond to criticism over day five ticket price by making third Test free for fans

The 2,000 fans who bought tickets in advance will receive a refund while gate prices have been reduced from £10 with the club welcoming charity donations on the door

Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club have responded to a small backlash over their day-five ticket pricing for England cricket’s third Test against India cricket by making the day free for all fans to attend.

With England poised for a heavy defeat in the third Test, fans faced the prospect of being charged £10 for entry to the fifth day’s action at Trent Bridge even though play could be finished after just one ball.

With James Anderson and Adil Rashid set to try and stave off the inevitable, India know they need just one wicket to win the Test to keep their series hopes alive with two matches to play. Taking a 210-run lead into the final day, an Indian victory appears a matter of when, not if.

A late day-four collapse saw England finish the day on 311-9, with India unable to find the final wicket that would have brought the Test to an end with a day to spare, but the hosts would need to produce a world-record last-wicket stand to have any hope of salvaging a draw on Wednesday – or hope for a weather intervention.

With that in mind, attendance is expected to be extremely low at Trent Bridge, yet fans were still being made to pay £10 for entry to the ground even though it could take one ball to dismiss either Anderson or Rashid – and is not expected to take much longer if not. Around 2,000 fans had bought tickets in advance, yet would not be refunded their money if a single ball was bowled.

India need just one wicket to win the third Test (AFP/Getty)

That left Nottinghamshire open to criticism given what could be on offer, and even though the weather forecast looks certain to remain dry, the club faced a small backlash over their decision to charge for tickets.

A number of fans bought tickets for day five in advance in the hope of a competitive Test match that went the distance, but in hindsight the decision to charge on the day has received criticism.

BBC Test Match Special commentator Jonathan Agnew said: “Great. So a crowd of 0 then...”

England have not impressed with the bat at Trent Bridge (Getty)

But the club have responded to the reaction by making the day free for all to attend, with a statement posted on their Twitter account on Wednesday morning confirming the change and welcoming any donations to charity on the door.

“We’ve slept on the day five pricing policy &, frankly, we got it wrong,” the statement read.

“All current ticket holders will be refunded & admission will be free on the gate with donations collected for charity.

“Gates open at 9am & we’d love to welcome you for the conclusion of the game.”

The decision immediately brought a positive reaction on social media, with fans commending the decision and even joking that they can’t wait to see Anderson hit the match-winning runs late in the day.