As England's players wait to hear whether the Test tour to India will go ahead, a former high-ranking police officer with long experience of counter-terrorism has told The Times that he would not recommend going back to the country. While he thinks that a targeted attempt on the England party is extremely unlikely, he believes that they could find themselves caught up in a more general attack.

Reg Dickason, the ECB security adviser, has arrived in Madras (Chennai) to examine whether safety measures requested by the ECB, giving the squad presidential level of protection, can be implemented in time for the first Test, due to begin a week tomorrow. He will also assess plans for the second game in Mohali before reporting back to the ECB with a recommendation, perhaps as early as today.

The expert contacted by The Times has given a specialist's insight into the areas that Dickason, with more than a decade of working specifically in cricket, will be examining and the questions he is sure to ask the Indian police and intelligence agencies in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai last week, which promoted the squad to return to England.

“Although what happened in Bombay was tragic, these acts of terrorism are not isolated,” the expert said. “Over the past two or three years it has been a regular feature of life in India. People are shocked by the events of last week, but I am not. It is a volatile, uncertain country and if anybody thinks that one part is safer than any other, they are living in a dreamworld.”

Scotland Yard has 30 officers in India who are liaising with MI5, so Dickason has access to the highest, most up-to-the-minute intelligence. He will be able to look at web traffic at the hotels, architecture of security at the grounds and the expected ethnic mix of the crowds. Even during the one-day series, some 1,500 police and troops were employed at matches.

The expert said: “I do not believe for one minute that a terrorist group would target the England cricket team. That would take a lot of planning and with the new venues and reinforced security they have not had that time. They prefer indiscriminate attacks on innocent people where there is the probability of a high concentration of British and American citizens.

“The risk is not lower in being where an indiscriminate attack could occur. They could just get caught up being in the wrong place at the wrong time. So the key, if they have to go for sporting reasons, is to minimise that risk. And if they do go, I would recommend they take their Game Boys and DVDs, because they will not be leaving their hotels at night.”

Dickason will report in three areas: the hotels, the grounds and the journeys from one to the other. The expert raised the slight but gruesome threat of a suicide bomber detonating a device by driving into the bus. “It will be critical to identify potential trouble spots along the route,” he said. “Don't use the same roads every day, try not to draw attention to yourself and maybe go in different vehicles rather than one team bus.”

Options at the hotels are to keep the team together on a single floor - which has the advantage of being easier to evacuate along a pre-designated escape route in the event of a threat - or spread across the building. Dickason will also be checking the hotel restaurants. “Some of them might have nice views,” the expert said. “But the downside is that you can be seen from the outside as well. You could not eat there because you would be vulnerable.”

The players are likely to be safest at the grounds. “Stadiums will be target-hardened,” the expert said. “When they are in the middle they cannot be attacked unless somebody runs on to the field, but there will be fences and guards between them and the boundary. Where they may be vulnerable is the dressing-room area. That should be completely mapped off and access has to be very tightly controlled.”