Ponting to be briefed on tour security

Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting will meet Foreign Minister Stephen Smith today to discuss security for the upcoming four-Test tour of India.

The Australian team is due to leave for India on Sunday, but terrorist bombings in the capital New Delhi have led the Players Association to raise concerns about security.

Cricket Australia (CA) says the four-Test tour will go ahead, but Ponting will be briefed on the latest security advice at Parliament House this afternoon.

The Government's travel advice for India has not changed since the bombings, but Mr Smith says all Australians should exercise a high degree of caution.

CA has provided extra security for the Australian A team already touring India, and it has been assured by Indian authorities that security for the Test squad will be strengthened.

"In consultation with the BCCI (Indian board), we have upgraded security in and around the dressing rooms and they will have an escort to the ground," Mr Young said.

"Australia A players have also been told not to leave the hotel without good reason. It's just a matter of prudence."

The Test side will start the tour with warm-up matches in Jaipur and Hyderabad.

Both cities have been the targets of bombings within the past 13 months.

Double standards

Meanwhile Pakistan's cricket officials have lashed out at Australia's decision to press ahead with its tour of India, accusing CA of double standards.

Australia has not toured Pakistan because of security fears since 1998, and would have pulled out of this month's Champions Trophy had the tournament not been postponed.

The Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) chief operating officer Shafqat says he is frustrated by Australia's decision to go to India.

"I'm beginning to think that maybe good sense has finally prevailed and Australia has decided to make this right decision," he said. "I hope the standards will become the same once it comes to taking a decision to tour Pakistan.

"There are other concerns besides safety and security, there are other attractions and reasons for which they would not have cancelled this tour, even if in my opinion there was a direct threat to that tour."

But Mr Young says there are clear reasons why India has been deemed safe to tour.

"It's simple. The advice we took from external agencies and our internal experts said that Pakistan was not safe," he said.

"And the same advice, through the same process, says that India is safe."