Just a few days after his team battled to a hard-earned draw at Old Trafford in Manchester, India head coach Gautam Gambhir found himself in a confrontation of a different kind. On Tuesday, during India’s first training session at The Oval ahead of the final Test against England, Gambhir was seen yelling at a heavyset man who was later identified as Oval pitch curator Lee Fortis.
In video footage captured by Indian media on tour, Gambhir can be heard shouting, you don’t tell us what we need to do and later using unparliamentary language. Batting coach Sitanshu Kotak later explained that the ground staff at The Oval had asked the Indian team to stand two and a half metres away while inspecting the wicket, which led to the verbal altercation. Fortis, in response, reportedly threatened to file a complaint with the match referee.
But Who is Lee Fortis, the man in charge of The Oval pitch?
Fortis has held the role of pitch curator at The Oval in London since 2012, succeeding Bill Gordon. He previously worked as the assistant head groundsman at the same venue before leaving in 2006. During his time away, he was employed at the Honourable Artillery Company ground in the City of London.
Despite winning accolades for his work including the ECB Grounds Manager of the Year Award in 2024, Fortis has developed a reputation for being unwelcoming to visiting teams. Reports also suggest he misbehaved with members of the Indian women’s team during their series against England earlier this year at The Oval.
A statement from the Grounds Management Association highlighted Fortis’s achievements, noting, Fortis and his team at the Oval earned consistently outstanding marks for their County Championship and Test pitches during the 2024 domestic and international season to win the Bernard Flack Memorial Trophy. This is also the fourth time in total that Fortis has scooped the prize since starting his role since 2012.
Despite the recognition, his tense interactions with visiting teams have raised questions, especially following the latest incident involving Gambhir and the Indian men’s team. The incident has spiced up the already heated series and all eyes are on 5th test that will be played from July 31st at Manchester.
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