Aussie cricket board urges players not to play in IPL over security fears..

AUSTRALIAN cricketers, along with their counterparts in England and South Africa, will be warned not to compete in the Indian Premier League next month or that they do so at their own risk, according to reports in Britain.

An English newspaper claims the security report commissioned by the international players' union says player safety cannot be guaranteed and threats issued by a group associated with Al-Qa'ida last week are credible.

Australian Cricketers' Association chief executive Paul Marsh said last night he had received the report from security consultant Reg Dickason but would not disclose its contents until he had advised the players.

The Australian, South African and English player associations share the security report, which they commissioned independently because the IPL refused to deal with the associations.

London's Sunday Telegraph reported yesterday that the Federation of International Cricketers, "expects a mass pull-out of players from the tournament this week unless security concerns are addressed or the IPL is moved out of India".

Players will make their own decision as to whether to attend.

Some, including Shane Warne, Shaun Tait and Damien Martyn are publicly supporting the tournament, although Warne had to be pulled into line after expressing initial doubts.

The Australian has been told some cricketers are more apprehensive than others about attending. Victorian players were caught up in a security scare during last year's Champions League and some have been shaken by that experience. The IPL, along with the Hockey World Cup and Commonwealth Games were all targetted by an Al-Qa'ida sub-group called the 313 Brigade.

The group warned foreign athletes not to attend any event.

India cannot afford for the IPL to be spoiled by the terror threat for fear it will have a flow-on effect to the Commonwealth Games and to other cricket on the sub-continent, including next year's ODI World Cup.

Last year's IPL was shifted to South Africa after the Mumbai terror attacks and a clash with local elections caused security problems.

The multi-million-dollar competition lost a lot of money last year, with ratings down in India and franchises upset at not being able to exploit their domestic presence. The problems come at a bad time for IPL chief Lalit Modi, who is trying to sell two new franchises, each with a reserve price of US$225m.

Marsh said yesterday he could not comment on what he would be recommending to players.

"We haven't spoken to the players at this stage.

"We have just received the report and we are working through it," he said.

"We need to go through the process of talking to our executive and our players before we are in a position to make public comment."

England Twenty20 captain Paul Collingwood, who plays for the Delhi franchise, told The Telegraph he was considering his position.

"I am aware of the reported security risks and am in constant communication with Delhi Daredevils," said Collingwood, who had not seen the report.

"I will make a decision once I have had a chance to review all the available information and talk to the relevant people."