The main reason for the difficulties of visiting teams to India is that the pitches on the subcontinent are quite different to those in England, Australia or South Africa. Cricketers from those countries are accustomed to batting on pitches which are typically hard, quick and bouncy, whereas the pitches they encounter in India are dry, dusty and slow, and ten to help spin bowlers instead of fast bowlers. In these circumstances it is no surprise that India produces high quality spin bowlers and batsmen who are adept at dealing with spin. Visiting teams’ spin bowlers are typically less skilled, and the batsmen are more comfortable when faced with fast bowling. A cricket tour of India thus poses considerable challenges for visiting players in terms of the pitches and the kind of cricket to be played.