The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Wednesday allayed visiting security expert Reg Dickason's apprehensions and oozed confidence of hosting the first Test match between India and England at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Chennai from December 11.
The fate of the India-England two-match Test series hanging on his findings, Dickason, security adviser of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), inspected the stadium besides meeting police and BCCI officials, including BCCI secretary N Srinivasan.
Later, Dickason looked satisfied as he said, "We had some security concerns and those have been addressed."
Srinivasan also sounded upbeat about hosting the match in Chennai and said, "As per our discussions, hopefully Chennai would be hosting the first match."
Sent by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to assess if India is safe enough for the return of the England team which left India abandoning the last two ODIs following the Mumbai attacks, Dickason had a quite hectic schedule on Wednesday.
Soon after his arrival in Chennai at 0810 IST, the Australian spent some 45 minutes in his hotel room before proceeding to Srinivasan's office where he held discussion for about 30 minutes.
From there, both went to the office of the Commissioner of Police for another 45 minutes of discussions, following which they headed to the stadium.
Dickason inspected the dressings rooms and the players' sitting areas and after 30 minutes of inspection, Srinivasan shared his optimism with the waiting media.
Dickason will now proceed to Mohali, venue of the second Test, after which he would submit a detailed report to the ECB, which is likely to determine the fate of the series.
