England should abandon plans to return to India for its Test series in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, according to Ian MacLaurin, the former chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board. “I think it's sad for cricket,” MacLaurin said Saturday. “But the safety of our players is absolutely paramount and I am sure that the ECB will take the same view.” Lalit Modi, vice president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, has insisted the two-match series will go ahead, with the second Test, scheduled to start in Mumbai on Dec. 19, switched to Chennai. However, MacLaurin warned the team could be targeted if they return. “The England cricket team has very high-profile individuals,” he said. “If these fanatics are going to target people then the England cricket side could be a very big target for them. My own view is that I would be very, very surprised if the security people will give them the OK to go back. For myself, I don't think they should go back.” England captain Kevin Pietersen says no player will be asked to return to India against his wishes, a stance backed by Vikram Solanki, an England batsman who was born in India and has played for the Mumbai Champs of the Indian Cricket League. “Two One-Day Internationals may have been canceled but if you look at the bigger picture there has been a devastating attack on the commercial capital of India, and a lot of people have lost their lives,” Solanki said. “That puts things into perspective as far as one-day cricket matches are concerned.” Yet Solanki warned that any withdrawal would have implications for all future tours. “There have been terror attacks on England in the past and cricket matches played soon afterward, which begs the question of whether that sets a precedent,” he said. England's cricket team could decide by Monday if it will return to India. “Our security report should be with us in the next 48 hours and we'll be considering those, and subject to what those say we'll be acting upon them,” England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) managing director Hugh Morris said on Saturday. England is scheduled to play the first of two Tests against India on Dec. 11 in Ahmedabad while the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has shifted the second Test, due to be played from Dec. 19-23, from Mumbai to the southern city of Chennai. “Clearly it's a very short time-scale and...assuming that safety and security is okay we would be potentially returning in quite a short time scale. So obviously there is a lot of work to be done in the next few days,” Morris told a news conference at Heathrow airport after the team arrived back from India. “I don't think we'd force anybody to do anything.” Morris noted that, among the players, there was “a good degree of nervousness, there's no doubt about that, that's only natural.” “Clearly, we are committed to going back and playing in a Test series if it is safe to do so,” he said. “Would I go back? If it was safe and secure, absolutely.” Asked by a reporter whether the ECB was considering holding a warm-up match at a venue in the Middle East, Morris replied: “That's an option we are actively looking at.” Australia on top Michael Hussey and Ricky Ponting produced contrasting half-centuries Saturday when Australia continued to control the second Test but could not bury New Zealand in perfect batting conditions in Adlaide. At stumps the host was 241-3, 29 behind New Zealand's below-par 270, and had lost a couple of opportunities to ensure they were the only ones capable of winning the game. Brief score: Australia 241-3 (Ponting 79, Hussey 69*) trail New Zealand 270 (Redmond 83, Lee 4
