England should tour if security permits - Lorgat

Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, has said the cricketing fraternity must rise above the threat of terrorism and urged England to go ahead with its Test tour of India if the security situation is deemed safe. Lorgat said security concerns would be on the agenda at next weekend's ICC chief executives' meeting in Cape Town and there is a strong possibility the 2011 World Cup, due to be held in the subcontinent, will be discussed in this context.

England put off their final two ODIs against India after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, and there are doubts over their players returning to India for the two-Test series, though the second Test has been shifted from Mumbai to Chennai.

"If safety and security allow then I would urge the England Test tour of India to go ahead and if it does so then representatives of the ICC will be there to show solidarity with the competing teams," Lorgat said, in a message condoling the tragedy in Mumbai. "And if those Tests are played I would also urge supporters of the game to attend them ... to send a message to those who seek to disrupt our way of life that we will not be prevented from doing what we want."

Lorgat said he would take up the issue of security concerns at the Cape Town meeting, which will be attended by chief executives of the ICC's 10 Full Members, as well as three Associate Member representatives, the ICC president, vice-president and himself.

One of those attending will be James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, and he said security concerns over the 2011 World Cup were likely to come up for discussion. "It hasn't been talked about but that may well have changed out of this Mumbai incident but one would hope the World Cup and other events that are planned for various places in the sub-continent can go ahead as planned," he told the Herald Sun.

There is some speculation that standby hosts could be identified for the 2011 tournament but Sutherland said he did not know if another country had been put on standby and was non-committal when asked if Australia would have enough time to prepare for the event should it be switched.

"I don't know the answer to that. It's something that down the track would need to be looked at, but we are very keen for it to go ahead where it has already been allocated," he said. "Let's see how things settle down after the tragic events of Mumbai."

ICC spokesman James Fitzgerald said there had yet to be any discussions about shifting the tournament. "A decision would have to be made soon if that was to happen because we need a good run in to get the World Cup ready on time."