Late English fan didn’t miss a game in 40 years at Trent Bridge

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The first Test between India and England got off to an exciting start in Nottingham on Wednesday. There were a lot of concerns ahead of the match regarding the weather with rain expected to play a spoilsport. However, it did not stop thousands of fans from making their way inside the Trent Bridge stadium to enjoy Day 1 action of the series opener.

With the UK government removing all the restrictions, it was almost a full-capacity crowd that turned up as England opted to bat first. Amid so many fans who regularly watch Test cricket in famous English summer, there was one fan who was missing, whose heartwarming story was revealed by England's Barmy Army.

Heart-touching story behind an empty seat in stadium

In an extremely crowded stadium on Wednesday, there was a seat which was left empty on Day 1. However, it was booked for one of the most loyal English cricket fans. Sharing the image of the empty seat, the Barmy Army revealed that it belonged to a fan named John Clarke who sadly passed away recently.

Interestingly, Clarke was such a crazy fan that he had not missed a single game at Trent Bridge for last 40 years. To honour his contribution as a cricket fan and his endless love for the game, his friends decided to buy him a ticket for India-England clash. This is why the seat was left empty as it was reserved for late John Clarke.

India on top on Day 1 in Nottingham

Batting has been an issue for both the sides coming into the series and it was always going to be a tricky day of Test cricket with two quality bowling line-ups. As England came out to bat first, Jasprit Bumrah put them on the backfoot by dismissing Rory Burns in the very first over of the match. Although Joe Root scored another flawless half-century, he was the only batsmen who looked comfortable as England were dismissed for a paltry total of 183. Bumrah, In reply, Indian openers ended Day 1 unfazed with the scorecard reading 21/0.