England await verdict on security

PLAYERS SHOULD ONLY RESUME INDIA TOUR IF THEY CAN STAY FULLY FOCUSED ON CRICKET, SAYS SELECTOR

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England will await the findings of security expert Reg Dickason before deciding on whether to resume their tour of India.

Australian Dickason will fly to Chennai today, the proposed relocation for the first Test in the aftermath of the terror attacks in Mumbai last week which prompted a premature end to the one-day series and resulted in the England players flying home.

England were offered a revised schedule by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) during a day of prolonged talks.

English cricket officials have also been engaged in discussions with various security agencies, both in India and the UK, as well as digesting the advice of their own man Dickason.

The BCCI have now proposed that the first Test, which was scheduled for Ahmedabad between December 11-15, will be moved to Chennai, while Mohali will host the second from December 19-23.

The two-match series was originally beginning in Ahmedabad and concluding in Mumbai.

Ahmedabad was the scene of numerous bomb blasts earlier this year and is relatively close to Mumbai.

England have played matches in Mohali on each of their previous two Test tours, losing both, their only defeats in six outings.

Even if the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) agree to resume the trip to the subcontinent it does not necessarily mean the same 15 players will return and national selector Geoff Miller today admitted no one should agree to resume their tour of India if they “have a sense of fear.” Since the England players’ return there has been speculation about whether Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison would return.

Asked if he would go if he was still a player, former Derbyshire off-spinner Miller said: “Yes, I think I would go if I got clearance on security.

“But the focus is on playing cricket so you’ve got to make sure you are fully focused on that job and not being sidetracked by other issues, and that’s pretty difficult. I fully understand that.

“If there’s a sense of fear then you can’t be fully focused on the job you are trying to do.

“These are difficult circumstances, difficult times, and you’ve got to have a very strong character to be able to do that.”

The players have already been briefed by Dickason and his observations will now be key to whether they return.

“The players had their meeting in India and discussed things, although there was very little they could discuss while waiting to see what Reg and the security people said,” added Miller.

“Now they will make their own personal decisions and once they have all done that we will reassess it, but we have to reassess it quickly because the turnaround is rapid.

“We’ve got two big Tests to play against one of the best teams in the world.

“It’s not only about playing those games, it’s also about the build-up to them – the preparation.”

Australia captain Ricky Ponting has warned his team will need to improve if they are to match visitors South Africa in three-Test series, which gets under way on December 17.

Brett Lee claimed five wickets as Australia dismantled New Zealand’s batting line-up to record an emphatic innings and 62-run victory in the second Test at the Adelaide Oval yesterday and seal a 2-0 series whitewash.

Ponting insists the team cannot afford to get too carried away with the performance.

“Realistically that New Zealand team is probably not the strongest team we’ve ever come up against and they are probably the first to admit that,” he said.

“We are not kidding ourselves – we’ve got a long way to go if we want to stay the number one team in the world.”