Guwahati's international future in doubt

Trouble flares following the abandonment © Getty Images

The future of Guwahati as an international venue is in doubt following the serious crowd disturbances which followed the abandonment of Sunday's ODI between India and England.

The ICC has asked for a report on events, and the assessment of Roshan Mahanama, the match referee, is believed to be vital in the decision over the venue's future. If local security is held responsible, then the Nehru Stadium may well be cast into the wilderness.

An ICC spokesman told the BBC that the Indian board was not entirely at fault for the match being scheduled at a venue which rarely hosts such high-profile games. "India came up with an itinerary and England agreed to play a match in Guwahati," he said. "If a board proposes a venue it's up to the visiting country's board to accept it or not. If the ECB had had any doubts about it they could have sent a security delegation to inspect the ground."

However, the Deccan Herald was in no doubt where the blame laid. "The events of Sunday are certain to cast a huge shadow over Guwahati's status as an international venue," it reported. "It wasn't so much the anger of crowd as the lack of response from the nearly 2,000 policemen present at the stadium that was most galling."