England players won't be forced into India return - ECB official

England's cricketers will not be forced to return to India for the two-Test series between the two countries, the managing director for England cricket said Saturday. In the aftermath of attacks in the Indian financial capital of Mumbai, Hugh Morris said the England team was committed to returning to India if it was "safe and secure" to do so, and added that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was "actively" considering warm-up matches in the Middle East. "I don't think we'd force anybody to do anything," Morris told reporters at a press conference at London's Heathrow Airport after the England team returned from India, when asked if cricketers would be forced to return if they did not want to. Morris noted that, among the players, there was "a good degree of nervousness, there's no doubt about that, that's only natural." "But what we have to do is provide the absolute up-to-date information that we have" to the players, he said. "They would have the necessary information to make an informed decision, but I think that that would be a personal choice if someone felt very strongly about it." He said that the team had returned "to assess the safety and security situation in India (and) the remainder of the England cricket tour of India." "We have a team of people that we rely on for our safety and security information. They're pulling that information together over the next 24 to 48 hours and, clearly, we'll assess that information when we have it." He acknowledged that the team had a "very short timescale" to work with, with the first Test due to be played in the western city of Ahmedabad from December 11-15. "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." "The information we get in the next 48 hours will be determining the programme leading up to the first Test if the report suggests it will be safe and secure to go back." The Board of Control for Cricket in India shifted the second Test from terror-hit Mumbai to the southern city of Chennai, which is scheduled to be played from December 19-23. The final two one-day internationals of the seven-match series, in which England was trailing 5-0, have been cancelled. The last remaining gunmen in Mumbai's Taj hotel were killed by Indian commandos on Saturday, ending the devastating attack by Islamic militants which has left 195 dead.