NEW DELHI, Nov 30: The International Cricket Council (ICC) urged England on Sunday to play next month's Test series in India if player safety concerns are addressed in the wake of the Mumbai attacks.

“If safety and security allow then I would urge the England Test tour of India to go ahead and if it does so then representatives of the ICC will be there to show solidarity with the competing teams,” chief executive Haroon Lorgat said in a statement.

“And if those Tests are played I would also urge supporters of the game to attend them as that will be the best way to send a message to those who seek to disrupt our way of life, that we will not be prevented from doing what we want or what we enjoy,” added the South African.

England returned home this week after the last two games of their one-day series in India were called off after the deadly attacks in Mumbai.

Both national boards agreed England would return to play the two-Test series, starting on Dec 11, with India also switching the second Test from Mumbai to Chennai.

However, some England players are still said to have safety concerns.

Lorgat said he has written to the Indian and England cricket boards pledging ICC support to ensure cricket was not disrupted.

Offering condolences to the Mumbai people, Lorgat said: “Sadly, terrorism appears increasingly to be a fact of life that we must endure.

“What we as a cricket family must do is to try, wherever possible, to rise above it and show that those who wish to perpetrate evil cannot win.”

The ICC chief executive committee will discuss security challenges for the game when it meets in Cape Town next week.

The ruling body already has major security concerns in Pakistan and postponed the September Champions Trophy until late next year after a possible boycott by five of the eight teams.

The ECB and the BCCI have discussed a number of ways forward but a neutral venue such as Abu Dhabi looks like one which will not be pursued.

The favoured option currently is thought to be for the team to head straight for the city in which they will play the first Test — be it Ahmedabad or Kolkata — and play a two-day warm-up game at an alternative ground to the Test.

—Agencies