India bid to save England tour

India's cricket authorities maintained on Tuesday that England's tour would go ahead, a day after England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Ian MacLaurin warned the trip was set to be shelved.

Jagmohan Dalmiya, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said he had spoken to ECB secretary Tim Lamb on Monday.

"Lamb spoke to me last night and said the tour is on," Dalmiya said by phone from Calcutta on Tuesday.

"As far as we are concerned, the tour will go ahead."

MacLaurin, however, had made it clear on Monday that the security situation in the region would have to improve for England to travel for their first Test tour of India in eight years. They are scheduled to play three Tests in December before a one-day series early next year.

MacLaurin, who said that the British Foreign Office was advising Europeans to keep a low profile following the U.S.-led bombing of Afghanistan, also revealed that the ECB was looking at alternative tour options.

England captain Nasser Hussain has also voiced concerns about the tour.

Cricket officials from India and England are due to discuss the issue during an International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting taking place in Kuala Lumpur this week.

Mail Cricket Editor