“Appreciate the 2 hours of notice lads,” wrote one fan on Twitter who was due to attend today’s meeting, while another responded: “I’m literally on the train to Manchester now!” Plenty of commenters took umbrage with the amount of money they have forked out to spectate a match which will no longer be going ahead.

“Thanks for the advance notice. We arrived in Mcr last night. Other friends have already set off this morning. Will someone be refunding our train fares and hotels?”, asked one disappointed England fan. Another meanwhile wanted the chance to attend an extra fixture in 2022 as a form of compensation for fans in the North, suggesting: “Are you going to move 1 of the 3 tests in London so there can be a test match at Old Trafford next year to make up for this?!”

Plenty of fans accused the Indian players of pulling out in order to protect their appearance fees for the upcoming second-leg of the lucrative Indian Premier League in the UAE. The players are due to meet up with their respective IPL sides on 15 September.

“Can’t risk losing that IPL money I guess, shame, it was a great series,” said one cynical England supporter. “Stinks of IPL this does absolutely gutted for all the people who have travelled, got hotel accommodation, etc.,” added another.

There was further anger surrounding the scoreline in the series, with the Indians currently leading 2-1.