Graveney insists player safety is top priority

England chairman of selectors David Graveney has nsisted that security would have to be "A1" for the winter tour of India to go ahead.

Graveney was speaking ahead of this week's International Cricket Conference summit in Kuala Lumpur.

The situation should be clarified next week, when a decision could be made on whether England go to India for the three-Test series, followed by the one-day tournament in the new year, or tour somewhere else before the New Zealand leg gets under way in February.

Graveney said: "The situation is no different from Zimbabwe in terms the priority of safety of the players, that is paramount.

"At the present stage we are obviously waiting for what happens in Kuala Lumpur.

"The PCA would never compromise their position about player safety, it's the crucial thing.

"We would never send anybody into an area where their safety could ever be put at risk, how could you expect them to play and do their best, and what about their families?

"But we would second guessing until we know what comes out of Kuala Lumpur. The security would need to be A1, it would have to be on any international sporting occasion."

The ICC meeting will also discuss the West Indies' concerns about their imminent tour to Sri Lanka. Should the world situation rule out both tours, a logical outcome could be an England tour of the Caribbean.

Another alternative might be to re-locate England's two Tests in the north of India to southern cities, more distant from the troubled area.

Meanwhile Jagmohan Dalmiya, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, has said: "As far as I am concerned the tour will go ahead."

Graveney was also upbeat about England's recent 5-0 one-day whitewash of Zimbabwe which ended a run of 11 consecutive defeats, as well as giving younger players valuable experience.

"I think we got everything out of it that we needed to do," Graveney said. "We worked on the basics of the younger guys taking part, which has been good.

"They would have extended their experience so it's been a good trip. I've spoken to the coach Duncan Fletcher who really did feel we are heading in the right direction.

"We've learned a bit more about some of the younger guys and we've won some games."

England's one-day squad for the rest of the winter will be named tomorrow morning.