Indian bomb blasts concern player body

Cricket Australia will continue to monitor the situation in Hyderabad after a series of bomb blasts on Saturday killed more than 40 people. Australia are due to play against India in the city on October 5 and the terrorist attacks have worried Paul Marsh, the Australian Cricketers' Association chief executive.

"It's a concern for the association and we'll be talking with Cricket Australia and the relevant authorities," Marsh said in The Australian. Marsh was part of the delegation that visited India in July to look at security arrangements for the seven-match one-day series.

The paper reported a Cricket Australia spokesman saying the situation was being monitored and there was little immediate concern. "We have absolute confidence in the security arrangements that the BCCI [the Indian board] and their experts, along with our experts, have put in place," the spokesman said. "We are taking regular briefings from the relevant international and domestic agencies and we always place the security of our players as absolute priority."

Bomb threats were responsible for Australia not playing in Sri Lanka during the 1996 World Cup and security issues forced the venue switch of the 2002 tour of Pakistan to Sri Lanka and Sharjah. However, Australia remained in England and fulfilled their Ashes duties following the July 2005 terrorist attacks in London.