The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) today played down reports of a rift between themselves and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over the fixture list for the Indian tour of England in 2002.

Despite the fact that the itinerary has been agreed in writing by the Indian board, there are now suggestions that they want to play only three Tests and not the scheduled four. This is in response to the fact that Nasser Hussain's team is only playing three Tests on the current tour and have five one-day internationals on the agreed itinerary after Christmas.

The BCCI have asked England to play two more one-dayers, but the ECB have refused to add to the existing schedule. The Indian threat of a reduced number of Tests next summer came in response to the ECB position with regard to the proposal for an extended fixture list on their ODI tour. The ECB insist that the Indians had given a written commitment to play four Tests, adding the itinerary was "non-negotiable" at this late stage.

"We have made all arrangements for the tour and even started selling tickets for the four Tests," ECB spokesman David Clarke said in Mumbai.

"The ECB is adamant India will play all four Tests, the itinerary is non-negotiable."

The ECB said the then secretary of the BCCI, Jayawant Lele, had confirmed in a letter dated April 5 that India will play four Tests and a limited-overs triangular series also featuring Sri Lanka.

The current situation arose when there were significant changes in the hierarchy of Indian cricket. Lele was not re-elected secretary, and a new president, Jagmohan Dalmiya, has re-emerged as the leading player in negotiations.

Dalmiya, a former president of the International Cricket Council (ICC), had made the request for England to play two extra one-dayers when he met ECB officials during the ICC meetings in Kuala Lumpur in October.

Dalmiya argued that India will play seven matches in the one-day series in England next year if they reached the final, and he wanted the ECB to reciprocate the same on their tour of India, BCCI sources said.

"England said their players were busy and needed a rest. Well, our players too need a rest," new BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said.

ECB's Clarke rebuffed Shah, saying, "Since 1998, it has been clear there would be an imbalance in the numbers of games on these two tours. It's too late to change the schedule."

The ICC has proposed fines of up to US$2 million if fixtures in the Test calendar are not honoured, but the proposal has yet to be ratified.

© CricInfo