Just one match into this tournament and I am beginning to get a sense of why India is such a difficult place to play cricket for overseas teams. Of course the conditions are alien to most British cricketers – pitches, outfields, heat, humidity – but far worse than these are two words that strike the fear of god into every foreign cricketer to have played here: Delhi Belly.

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Sussex coach Mark Robinson has said that domestic fixture overload is hindering his work with his players and damaging his side’s chances in the Champions League in India. This season Sussex dominated limited-overs competitions – winning the Pro40 and Twenty20 Cup and losing finalists in the FP Trophy – but suffered relegation in the Championship.

And competing so hard in all competitions caused Sussex’s downfall, admits Robinson: “It is horrendous. That is the biggest problem with English cricket. We play too much. We don’t get much chance to practise specific skills. We had problems against the swinging ball this year, so you want to practise that and take that out. But it is hard because you are constantly playing.”

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When England’s tour parties were announced last week, the ‘news line’ focused on the inclusion of Kevin Pietersen and the controversial but explicable omission of Steve Harmison. As a consequence, and because of the overload of names you get when tour parties are announced, it took around ten minutes before the penny dropped: Owais Shah had been dropped.

If it was to be Shah’s farewell, and although he is only 30 it is hard to see him coming back from here, there was something appropriate about the way the story broke. Even Sky Sports News - who use their yellow breaking-news ticker to excitably report England footballers emerging from a trip to the toilet unscathed - couldn’t find a place for Shah. Nor, for most of his eight-year international career, could England.

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In March this year, Australia picked a debutant legspinner at Cape Town against South Africa. This was Warne’s replacement, the answer to Australian spin troubles – Bryce McGain had had a number of solid seasons for Victoria and, despite being a week short of his 37th birthday and Australia’s oldest debutant, he had forced his way into the side. That was as good as it got. Kallis battered him, de Villiers cashed in, Australia lost by an innings and McGain took home figures of 18-2-149-0. It was a brutal introduction and swift ending to his international experience. Now, in the glamorous surrounds of the Champions League in Delhi, where he fights even to find a starting spot for the Victoria Bushrangers, he’s had a chance to digest the toughest and briefest of Test careers:

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