BHUBANESWAR // England's cricket squad will fly home tomorrow in the wake of the deadly attacks in Mumbai before returning to India to play two Test matches as planned. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said today that the players will be back in India in time for the first Test in Ahmedabad on Dec 11, with the second match the following week set to be moved from Mumbai to another venue in the south of the country. England had been set to stay at Mumbai's Taj Mahal Palace hotel, which was targeted in the attacks, ahead of the second Test. "Both the ECB and the Board of Control for Cricket in India have made assurances that the two Test matches will go ahead," the ECB said in a statement. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice president Lalit Modi had already been unequivocal when he said the fixtures would be fulfilled despite the Wednesday attacks that killed more than 100 people. "The Tests are going on," Modi said. "Definitely." The ECB managing director Hugh Morris denied that he had already asked the BCCI to call off the Tests, although the bodies have postponed the last two one-day matches in Guwahati and New Delhi. India leads the seven-match series 5-0. "We have to see if it is practical and possible to reschedule that," Modi said. Morris said that the second-string performance squad, which includes the former captain Michael Vaughan, will fly back to England immediately. "They were due to spend a period in Bangalore before they moved on to Mumbai," Morris said. "Clearly that is not possible."
*AP
