Test switch designed to appease ECB

BCCI moves matches to Chennai and Mohali in effort to ensure England's return

(AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

The Board of Control for Cricket in India's enforced game of musical Test grounds appears finally to have ended with the governing body announcing that England's two pre-Christmas Tests will, safety and security permitting, now be played in Chennai and Mohali.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has yet to agree to the revised itinerary, having spent yesterday collecting and analysing safety and security information from its sources at home and in India. The fate of the tour, which was interrupted by last week's terrorist attacks in Mumbai which resulted in Kevin Pietersen's side returning home, is expected to be revealed today.

The initial itinerary had the first Test, from 11 to 15 December, in Ahmedabad and the second, from 19 to 23 December, in Mumbai. The Mumbai Test has been moved for obvious reasons and the Ahmedabad match because of its proximity to Mumbai, and the fact that the region is potentially more sensitive to last week's atrocities. Bangalore and Calcutta were also considered as possible options by the BCCI, which is doing its utmost to appease the ECB, thus ensuring England's return.

The change of Test venues has not helped the ECB to come to a quick decision. England were not expected to visit Chennai and Mohali during their tour of India so security checks on the cities did not take place. There is, however, recent information on both destinations. The postponed Champions League, which had been due to start tomorrow, was meant to take place in Chennai, and Australia played a Test at Mohali on their recent tour of India.

The biggest concern about the venues could be the fact that the second Test is scheduled to take place in Mohali, a northern city in the foothills of the Himalayas, and is due to end on 23 December. A stipulation in this tour is that England's players are back home on Christmas Eve and Delhi, which is an hour's flight from Mohali, is the nearest international airport.

The change in itinerary has forced England's three-day warm-up match in Baroda to be cancelled. The game had been intended to be played from 5 to 7 December and its abandonment increases the chances of England stopping in Dubai or Abu Dhabi for practice on their way to India. If England intend to keep the number of days they spend in India to a minimum they would probably arrive in Chennai on 7 December, four days before the first Test and following two or three days of preparation in the Middle East.

England's decision to return home in the middle of their tour has not been greeted warmly by everyone in the cricket fraternity. Geoff Lawson, the former Australian fast bowler and until recently Pakistan coach, believes Pietersen's side were guilty of employing double standards in leaving India.

"It's interesting that England headed home and certain players don't want to play the Test series and yet we go back to 2005, bombs went off in London while there was a big series on there and it didn't affect one iota the cricket," said Lawson. "A few of the England players should reflect on what happened in their country before they start pulling out of cricket matches in India. If you stop events that aren't particularly and directly threatened, you're just succumbing to terrorism and they succeed. So far, the facts are, no sporting event, let alone a cricket event, has ever been threatened."

Lawson was highly critical of his native Australia earlier this year when they refused to tour Pakistan. He also called on the International Cricket Council to proceed with plans to play the 2011 World Cup on the Indian subcontinent amid media speculation it may be moved to Australia and New Zealand. "No matter where you hold that event in the cricket world it could be open to terrorism," Lawson said. "Whether it's going to be Christchurch or Alice Springs, it's not really going to matter. If they want to do something, they'll find a way."

The England hierarchy have stated that they would not hold anything against a player who pulls out. The same reassurances were given in 2001, when England travelled to India shortly after the 9/11 tragedies in America.

Robert Croft and Andy Caddick chose not to tour for security fears, a decision that ultimately cost Croft his Test place. Ashley Giles capitalised on Croft's absence and he never played Test cricket for England again. It is a decision the Glamorgan off-spinner now regrets. "I would probably change the decision that I made then," Croft said. "There will be a lot of subconscious pressure on [the captain] Kevin Pietersen to go. In 2001, I felt there was a lot of pressure on Nasser Hussain to go because a lot of people were looking at if the captain pulls out, then it's easier for players to pull out."