There have been thousands of police and hundreds of commandos swarming all over Chennai during this Test, and India must have spent a fortune on security in the wake of the Mumbai terrorist strikes. But one journalist was rather grateful for all the snipers and army personnel while she was trying to spend a penny: the BBC's intrepid and unfailingly cheerful reporter, Alison Mitchell, managed to lock herself in the ladies' lavatory according to Peter Hayter's enjoyable piece at the Mail on Sunday.

All this protection is certainly worth the hassle if it can save a damsel in distress.