Players may reject revised tour

The England and Wales Cricket Board are thought to be close to accepting tightened security arrangements.
But for the resumption of the tour to India - former player Dominic Cork claims as many as six of Peter Moores' squad will not return and are "traumatised" by their experience.
The ECB have been locked in talks surrounding the future of the two-Test tour, which was put in doubt by the team's departure on Saturday to reassess the situation following the campaign of terror on Mumbai's leading landmarks, which caused the two remaining one-day internationals to be postponed.
The ECB are thought to be close to agreeing a revised itinerary - including a stop-off and warm-up match in Abu Dhabi - pending Reg Dickason's security assessment.
But Cork insisted a host of unnamed key players are unwilling to travel in the current climate.
"I know of at least five or six players who are going to turn their backs on England," he told Radio Five Live.
"Those I've spoken to are traumatised. What they saw on television was 10 times worse than what was shown here.
"I am not sure about the captain (Kevin Pietersen). I know of certain players who are going to put their families first."
Cork also believes that if any of the playing staff do not want to tour on safety grounds, the team should not go to India at all.
"If one doesn't go, they all shouldn't go. They should make a stand and say 'it's not safe for us to be there'," he added.
"I've spoken to players and they are very upset and feel they wouldn't be able to go out and play cricket in India.
"What is the point of England taking a diluted squad? You're going to India in their backyard. You have a big series against West Indies, and then Australia. It's not very good preparation. The guys will not be focused."
Meanwhile, The National newspaper in Abu Dhabi claims England will train and play a warm-up game at the Abu Dhabi Cricket Club, citing sources at the club.
``It is a big honour for Abu Dhabi,'' the source told the newspaper.
``It is an extremely safe environment and we want to make sure that the players feel safe too, but we will be taking nothing for granted and security will be very tight.''
In this plan, England would warm-up in Abu Dhabi, with Dickason visiting Chennai and Mohali, the venues for the two Tests on December 11 and 19, and report back to the ECB on the security arrangements in place.
``A lot of progress has been made and some extremely good and constructive meetings have taken place,'' confirmed ECB chairman Giles Clarke.
``Reg is going to Chennai and we are awaiting his reports.
``The security advice we are receiving has not changed and we are getting a lot of help and co-operation from everyone in India.
``The Board of Control for Cricket in India are doing all it can to facilitate the tour but we must do what we have to do properly and thoroughly. It is what every England player wants and deserves.''
Among the measures England are thought to have demanded from the BCCI has been the introduction of a 20-man commando force at every venue while they also want an evacuation procedure put in place should there be any untoward incidents.
But for all England's concerns, there is a desire to continue with the tour and help India recover from the events of the last week in Mumbai, particularly as Australia continued with the Ashes tour three years ago after the bombings in London.
Clarke stressed: ``Under no circumstances will we allow our cricket to be dictated to by terrorists.
``India is an enormous country and there are large parts of it that have never seen terrorist activity. In 2005 the Aussies were sensible and we are doing the same here.''
England's concerns about their return to India have been mirrored by international player representatives, who are poised to discuss the issue of player safety at their executive meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia between December 9 and 12.
The issue is now top of the agenda at the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA) meeting with chief executive Tim May admitting:
``We're obviously concerned about the situation.
``On the other hand we are also concerned about the health of the game, both in places like Pakistan and India, and the rest of the world.
``It is a world significantly different now to what it was 15 years ago because of the threat of terrorism. So we need to discuss to what extent we will accept that the level of threat has increased.''