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England schedule set

18/11/2008

ENGLAND'S Test series against India will start on schedule next month.

The England and Wales Cricket Board have confirmed the two-match series will begin in Ahmedabad on December 11, contrary to previous suggestions that it might be shifted back 24 hours.

India were understood to have proposed the match start late to ensure their captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni did not end up with an uncomfortable rush, should his IPL team Chennai Super Kings reach the Champions League final.

That day-night showpiece event is to take place on December 10 in Chennai, with the first Test set to start only hours later.

But IPL boss Lalit Modi today made it clear there will be no switch after all - an assurance subsequently confirmed by an ECB spokesman on tour in India.

“No such thing will happen,” Modi, said. “We looked at rationalising the schedule, but it's not possible.”

Dhoni is the only player from either side involved in the inaugural Champions League.

Modi added: “We don't even know if Chennai will be in the final, because the Champions League is yet to start.

“But whatever happens, Dhoni will definitely play in the first Test, starting as scheduled on December 11.”

Had the Ahmedabad fixture been shunted back, there would have had to be either a very short turnaround before the second Test in Mumbai or another late start - raising the prospect of a Christmas Eve finish to the tour, which would have found little favour with England's players.

England, meanwhile, have sent left-arm seamer Ryan Sidebottom for a scan on his lower back.

The Nottinghamshire bowler reported discomfort on England's arrival in Kanpur for Thursday's third match in the one-day series against India.

The result of the scan will be known tomorrow, when Sidebottom was expected to come into contention for a recall.

He has not played an ODI since the home series against New Zealand last summer and is yet to feature in any match on tour as he attempts to recover from Achilles problems.

England will begin next year’s tour of the West Indies in St Kitts rather than Barbados.

The West Indies Cricket Board have switched two three-day warm-up matches to St Kitts’ Warner Park Stadium - one of the group venues for the 2007 World Cup.

The first will be a practice match against a St Kitts XI from January 25, followed by a first-class fixture against West Indies ’A’ from January 29. The Test series starts in Jamaica on February 4.

England’s two-day match in Barbados between the second and third Tests will be played against a BCA President’s XI at a venue to be confirmed, on February 21 and 22.

A 50-over practice match in Trinidad before the start of the one-day international series will be played against WIPA President’s Select team on March 14, again at a ground to be confirmed.

Click here to read Chris Ostick's cricket blog.