Heavy rain in Abu Dhabi cut short England team practice

Abu Dhabi:

Heavy rains disrupted England cricket team's training session here on Saturday with the fury of weather gods cutting their workout for the day in half ahead of next week's first Test against India in Chennai.

The 38-strong contingent, which includes 13 Test members and 10 performance squad members, were to head to nets at 0930 local time, but their departure for the Sheikh Zayed Stadium was put back to 1300 due to persistent rain.

England have set up a training camp here until a definitive decision is made on Sunday on the trip back to India following the Mumbai terror attacks.

They are breaking unusual ground by preparing for a Test in a different country to that in which it is being played.

The squad arrived in the UAE capital last morning and had a three-hour light practice session in the afternoon on Friday. A friendly match is scheduled between the players on Sunday.

If the England security experts give a green signal to undertake the two-Test tour, the squad will leave for Chennai on Monday.

Hugh Morris, managing director of England cricket, and Sean Morris, chief executive of the Professional Cricketers' Association, will return here on Sunday with their conclusions.

England cancelled the final two one-dayers of its tour of India following last week's terror attacks in Mumbai that left nearly 200 people dead.

The first Test, which is due to start Thursday, was shifted from Ahmedabad to Chennai and the second from Mumbai to Mohali (starting December 19) because of the attacks.