A conservatively estimated 3,000 people from England, guided by a host of their former Test players like Jack Russell and Phil Tufnell, are here to watch the ongoing third India-England Test.

And they have occupied many of the budget and luxury hotels around the stadium, nearby in upmarket Colaba and in other parts of the city, giving hotel proprietors something to cheer about.

Most English fans are occupying the guest stand at the Wankhede Stadium and have put England flags all around it, with the names of their football clubs, local pubs or things that are important to them, like Bradford City, Forest Rovers, West Huntspill and Swanston.

Some of them have also written their names so that their relatives and friends see and recognise them when they see the live telecast on Sky Television.

A variety of fans - young, old, women and many first timers - could be seen enjoying their cricket and beer and sunbathing by removing their shirts.

Among the fans was a blind professor from Sunderland, who 'watched' the first Test in Nagpur, the second one in Mohali and is now in Mumbai.

So what has been the high point of the tour so far?

"It has to be meeting former India captains Bishen Singh Bedi and Kapil Dev," Fred Raffle, a retired professor of social work in the University of Central England, told IANS.

"I just thought it was a pleasure meeting Bedi," said Raffle, accompanied by a walking stick and a helper who shows him the way by holding his hand.

Raffle, who carries a radio set to follow the game more closely, sits in the Sky Television commentary box and has been "looked after well" by the Barmy Army. "They have been very kind to me."

Most of the English fans are part of the Barmy Army, a group of supporters who travel to the countries the national cricket team travels to. But many other people have come on their own, or through various travel agencies, like Gulliver's and Sport Abroad.

Although no one knows exactly how many people have come down from England to watch the Test here, it is clear that Mumbai is the most sought after of the three venues of the Test series - Nagpur, Mohali and this happening metro.

England team's media manager Andrew Walpole had no idea how many fans were here for the five-day match. "Difficult to say, but roughly, I would guess, there would be 3,000 to 4,000 people here," Walpole told IANS.

"The English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) does not organise tours, but it does facilitate fans who want to go on tour," he said.

Gullivers' alone has brought a handful of people, said its manager (cricket department) Geraldine Norris.

Asked for the break-up, she said: "There were 50 people in Nagpur, 100 in Mohali and 150 here. Mumbai is the most sought after venue of the three."

Former England fast bowler John Snow used to own a travel company but he sold it about two years ago. He had brought fans over to India on England's 2001 tour, but this time he seems to have come alone, or may have brought people privately.

Ilan Sade, a Jew from Middlesex, is a first timer and a fan of India.

"India fascinates me and I wanted to come to Mumbai to see the cricket and the place," he said while having dinner at Samrat restaurant near the Cricket Club of India.

-Indo-Asian News Service