India tour: some players may opt out

By Ted Corbett

LONDON, OCT. 22. England's players for the tour of India-due to start on November 18-have been called to Lord's on Tuesday to meet officials of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), their own management team and Sir Rob Young, a senior British diplomat from Delhi, in a last-minute bid to clear the air after several stars had made it clear they were worried by danger from the military action in Afghanistan.

The consequences of a large-scale defection will be spelt out to players who are concerned about their safety. They were to hold their own meeting first and although there will not be a vote on Tuesday the players' reactions will be closely watched by the ECB officials concerned about the game's future. It is expected that the whole squad will decide to go although there is still a chance that some may pull out.

Richard Bevan, who represents the players in negotiations with the board, said on Sunday that he hoped the ECB would respect individual decisions but added that no player had told him he would definitely not go.

He said: ``The players want good, co-ordinated information rather than the conflicting signals which have come out so far.''

Bevan is probably referring to the somersault performed by Lord MacLaurin, chairman of the Board, who said before he went to Kuala Lumpur for an ICC meeting that ``if conditions stay the same it looks as if the tour will be cancelled'' and afterwards that it must go on. That change of attitude in 72 hours has not been explained and there is no doubt that he will be asked to explain tomorrow.

It has been said that the ECB may be bankrupted if the tour has to be called off because the ICC has threatened hefty fines for countries which fail to honour their tour commitments and that India might cancel next summer's tour here.

On the other hand, as the married all-rounder Craig White has made clear, the men with families are reluctant to go because they will at one stage of the tour be only 500 miles from the Afghanistan border. Precisely what their fear is cannot be spelt out clearly, but it is known that White is far from being on his own and that the captain Nasser Hussain, born in Madras, is one of those apprehensive about the trip.

Hussain is unlikely to declare himself a refusnik; it would be in direct contrast with the expectations of an England captain, but he is such a powerful leader that if he hints at reservations he will encourage the doubters.

All the players have listened to the remarks of Imran Khan, the former Pakistan captain turned politician, who asked rhetorically: ``Has war been declared in India? I cannot see any cause to drop out of the tour. It should go on.''

Saurav Ganguly, the Indian captain, has the same belief. ``We will be staying in the same hotels and travelling on the same planes as the England players and we have no fears,'' he said.

Michael Vaughan, a candidate for the England captaincy when the Hussain reign ends, has obviously listened. ``If the Foreign Office says it is safe to go I would go,'' he said. ``I've been to India a couple of times. It' a great place to tour and I know people were looking forward to going. I'm very keen to get out there and play some cricket, but we will have to see what advice we are given.''

Sadly for Vaughan and 15 fellow travellers the Foreign Office is still saying that anyone travelling to India should keep a ``low profile''.

Cricketers taking part in three Tests and several warm-up matches may find that advice difficult to follow.

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