England get set for India tour

A tight security ring will be thrown around the England cricket squad which lands early on Wednesday for a Test tour of India where its safety will be as much in focus as its performances.

The 16-member squad, due in Bombay for its first full tour of India in eight years, will be escorted from the airport to the team hotel, an Indian cricket official said.

The measures have been put in place after the tour was thrown into doubt after several players raised safety concerns because of the current situation in the subcontinent due to the U.S.-led strikes in Afghanistan.

England are scheduled to play three Tests in December and a five-match one-day international series in the New Year after a Christmas break back home.

Nasser Hussain's side agreed to travel after being assured by government and cricket officials of both countries, though fast bowler Andrew Caddick and off-spinner Robert Croft chose to stay home.

Officials on Friday reviewed security in Bombay, where England will stay for the first six days and play their first warm-up game, a two-day fixture against Bombay from November 18.

Officials from the British Deputy High Commission, Bombay police and the Bombay Cricket Association (MCA) held discussions and British officials visited the Wankhede Stadium, where the side will train and play the opener.

TIGHTER SECURITY

"Security will be tighter than usual for the England team because of the scenario the world over," said Mayank Khandwala, joint secretary of the MCA, who attended the meeting.

Visiting teams always receive elaborate security in India, mainly to stop overzealous cricket fans from mobbing them.

"We are very happy with the arrangements and the co-operation we have been getting from Indian officials at every level," a British Deputy High Commission spokesman said.

That will include guards outside hotel rooms and players will be required to inform security officers before going out of the hotel, to get a security escort if they want, Khandwala said.

At the Wankhede stadium, mobile phones, bottles, handbags, transistors, cigarettes and lighters will not be permitted and fans can carry food inside only in transparent packets, he said.

The ECB has said it is happy with the security planning and has also arranged for a security officer to travel with the players throughout the tour.

England will play two more warm-up games in Hyderabad and in Jaipur before arriving in Mohali, in Punjab, for the first Test starting on December 3.

DRY MOAT

A Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) official said security would be tight at Mohali, where a dry moat runs around the ground as an additional barrier besides fencing.

"The first secretary from the consulate in New Delhi, (Peter) Holland, came and saw everything last week and he was fully satisfied. The police have made elaborate arrangements," PCA secretary M. P. Pandove told Reuters by phone from Chandigarh.

A similar drill has been put in place for the second Test starting on December 11 in the western city of Ahmedabad.

The city has in the past witnessed communal trouble involving Muslims and Hindus. There have been no major problems of late, but Muslims have taken to the streets, burnt the British flag and called for a boycott of U.S.-made goods to protest against the strikes in Afghanistan.

Mail Cricket Editor