Surrey groundsman Lee Fortis has been placed on leave following a row with an employee of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).<\/p>\n
Fortis was seen having an argument with the employee, who was left in tears after helping prepare the ground for a Hundred match.<\/p>\n
Soon after, Fortis and Steve Elworthy, Surrey chief executive, were seen having a robust conversation in the middle, which ended with the groundsman leaving the field.<\/p>\n
The incident took place on July 28, the day before MI London played London Spirit at the Oval when the two teams were training.<\/p>\n
Fortis has been absent from the south London ground since and it is unclear whether or when he will return. Some sources in the English game believe it is unlikely he will return at all.<\/p>\n
A Surrey spokesman said: “Matters involving the Club and its employees are private and confidential, and therefore it would not be appropriate to comment.”<\/p>\n
Fortis is a recognisable figure in the game given his stature \u2013 he is about 6ft 10in \u2013 and a row with Gautam Gambhir<\/a>, the India coach, last year which drew media attention.<\/p>\n Amid a disagreement over the square, Gambhir said to him: “You’re just a groundsman, nothing beyond that.” Afterwards, Sitanshu Kotak, India’s batting coach, called Fortis “arrogant”<\/a>.<\/p>\n On the day of the incident during the Hundred, Fortis is also thought to have had a run-in with a member of the London Spirit backroom staff, but it is understood that is not a reason for his absence.<\/p>\n Fortis has been head groundsman at the Oval since 2012, when he landed one of the most prestigious jobs in his field aged 30, and won the top award at the ECB’s Grounds Manager of the Year Awards three times in a row between 2022 and 2024, when Surrey won the County Championship title each time.<\/p>\n Groundstaff under pressure<\/p>\n The 2027 summer would be an awkward time for Surrey to be searching for a new groundsman because of their packed fixture list. The Oval will host two Test matches \u2013 the fifth Ashes Test and the World Test Championship final. On top of that there are all the Surrey men’s and women’s matches, and MI London, who are 51 per cent owned by Surrey.<\/p>\n Groundstaff across England, but especially at grounds that host franchises in the Hundred, are under significant pressure because of the fixture list. More cricket has been added to the schedule over the past decade because of the welcome rise of the women’s game, as well as the advent of the Hundred.<\/p>\n This is especially true at Surrey, who do not have their own “second home” (as Lancashire do, developing a ground at Farington near Preston, for instance). Surrey play some men’s and women’s fixtures at Guildford, but attempts to make the LSE Ground in New Malden an official second home appear to have stalled.<\/p>\n Pitches in recent years at the Oval have been characterised by a healthy layer of grass, meaning the toss-winning captain generally chooses to bowl. The pitch, after a bit of juiciness early on, then largely plays well for batsmen.<\/p>\n