England ready for India tour after venue change

Monday, December 01, 2008 (New Delhi): The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has put an end to the speculations over England cricket team's returning to India for the two-Test series as it has agreed to send the team to India for the Test series.

The first Test that was to be played in Ahmedabad from 11 to 15 December has been shifted at Chennai, while Mohali will now be hosting the second Test starting from 19 to 23 December. The three-day tour match has been called off.

However, ECB will be sending their security consultant for discussions with the Authorities in India before final clearance is given for the Tour.

India almost steal 2nd place in ODI championship

Monday, December 01, 2008: South Africa retains place by a fraction of a point; England lose ground in sixth position as Sri Lanka strengthens position.

Third-placed India has reduced the gap with South Africa in second position on the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship table to a fraction of a ratings point following its successful ODI series against England.

With the postponement of the final two ODIs in the series, India lost the chance to go second on the table but by winning the series 5-0, the home team gained four ratings points and now sits on 119, the same number as South Africa but behind the Proteas when the points are calculated beyond the decimal point.

One more win for Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men would have put them into second position but it wasn't to be and they will now have to wait until their next series for the opportunity to make further inroads.

England, on the other hand, has suffered the effects of that comprehensive series defeat by losing five ratings points and is now under pressure in sixth place from Sri Lanka, whose 5-0 series victory over Zimbabwe has put it within one point of Kevin Pietersen's team.

Despite being competitive in several of those games, Zimbabwe loses further ground to Ireland in 10th position and is now only two ratings points in front of Kenya in 12th.

Australia is still on top of the ICC ODI Championship and with Test cricket set to dominate the international schedule for the next few weeks, that situation is not likely to change any time soon.

Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship (as of 1 December)

Rank Team Rating

1 Australia 131

2 South Africa 119

3 India 119

4 Pakistan 114

5 New Zealand 113

6 England 108

7 Sri Lanka 107

8 West Indies 91

9 Bangladesh 47

10 Ireland 19

11 Zimbabwe 13

12 Kenya 11

Tour appears to be on with BCCI announcing new venues

Monday 01 December, 2008: After uncertainty over whether the two-Test series against England would be held in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror strikes, it appears that the tour may ultimately take place with BCCI deciding on Chennai and Mohali as the new venues.

Although the BCCI said that England have agreed to return for the Test series, the ECB will be sending their security consultant for discussions with the authorities in India before a final clearance is given for the tour.

The BCCI, in a bid to salvage the tour, agreed to ECB's fresh request to shift the match from Ahmedabad and Mohali has been now chosen as the new venue.

As per the revised schedule, Chennai will host the first Test from 11th to 15th December while the second Test will be played in Mohali from 19th to 23rd December.

BCCI Secretary N Srinivasan said in a media release that England have agreed to resume their tour of India that was halted after the first five ODIs were completed following the terror attacks in Mumbai.

England were originally scheduled to play the Test matches at Ahmedabad and Mumbai on the same dates before the Mumbai terror attack.

The three-day tour match scheduled prior to the commencement of the two-match rubber has been cancelled, Srinivasan said.

"ECB has informed BCCI that England are agreeable to tour India and play two Tests, the first in Chennai from December 11-15 and the second at Mohali from December 19 to 23," Srinivasan said.

"ECB will be sending their security consultant for discussions with the authorities in India before final clearance is given for the tour," Srinivasan said.

Both Chennai and Mohali would thus be hosting their second Test matches in a calendar year following the rescheduling of the matches against England.

Chennai was the venue of the first Test against South Africa in March-April while Mohali played host to the second Test in the four-match series against Australia in October.

The cancelled three-day tour match, as per the earlier schedule, was to have been held in Vadodara with the opening Test to follow at Ahmedabad.

The new schedule was finalised after discussions between top BCCI and England and Wales Cricket Board officials.

It is learnt that the ECB was also talking to the Indian and British governments, high commissions in Indian cities, security advisers and other risk assessment experts in order to give the cricketers a thorough dossier on safety issues in India.

The ECB has maintained that it was for the players to decide whether they want to return to India but they would be briefed in detail about the security scenario and the arrangements that would be in place for the tour.

England players unlikely to feel safe in India: Vaughan

Sunday, November 30, 2008 (London): Former England captain Michael Vaughan feels it will be tough for Kevin Pietersen and his men to return India for next month's Test series as playing there would be like being in a "military camp" after the ghastly Mumbai terror attacks.

"The tour, if it goes ahead, will become like a military camp," Vaughan said.

Vaughan said it is hard to say whether the Indians would be prepared to play after the mayhem that left close to 200 dead.

"And what about the Indian players? You've got to feel for those guys. Some of them live in Mumbai (Bombay) like Sachin Tendulkar and I bet they've lost a few friends. Our liaison officer in Bangalore, Sachin, his neighbour was shot dead. It has to have an effect on the Indian players," he said.

safe even if given presidential security.

"It's such a difficult problem for them. All the lads will be desperate to play cricket for their country, but they will want to have their safety guaranteed and the trouble with this sort of attack is that safety cannot be guaranteed, even if they are given presidential security," Vaughan was quoted as saying by 'The Daily Telegraph'.

"When they get home the players have to give themselves 24 hours then sit down and ask themselves if they can be 100 per cent committed to playing cricket in India. We have a duty to go and play cricket if it is safe to do so, but if the players have fear, they can't go out there and perform," he added.

Vaughan said the players' fear is likely to be compounded by reports that the terrorists, who laid siege to the Indian financial hub, were looking to target westerners.

"It's this mental effect after they've been so related to the incident reports that these terrorists have targeted westerners, running through hotel foyers asking for British and American people.

"There are a lot of young players in this England squad who are new to this sort of thing. Can they focus and concentrate on cricket so soon afterwards? Any slightly negative mentality and they will get found out," he explained.

The former skipper said he would have certainly withdrawn from the tour in such a situation.

"I personally would find it very difficult to go back, having been there and watched the scenes on TV scenes of gunmen shooting people and corpses being dragged out of a hotel where the England team were staying a fortnight ago and where they were due to be staying in just over a fortnight. I felt concerned when I was in Bangalore with the performance squad," he said.

"It's going to be very tricky for Kevin Pietersen in particular. If he'd been just a player, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't go back, but as the England captain he'll have to consider the wider picture. I was put in a similar situation when we went to Zimbabwe in 2004 but it was a political issue not a safety issue.

"Above all, there has to be a period of mourning, and I think that less than a fortnight is not long enough," he added.