Mohali will stage the second Test between India and England, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in a statement issued here Wednesday.

ECB security advisor Reg Dickason, together with England cricket managing director Hugh Morris and Professional Cricketers’ Association chief executive Sean Morris, approved (he venue following an inspection and the Test is set to get under-»ay as scheduled on

December 19.

Both Tests were put in jeopardy when England cut short the seven-match one-day series and returned home last month following the tenor attacks in Mumbai that left 172 dead and almost 300 injured.

But following a change of Test venues - Ahmedabad was due to host the first Test and Mumbai the second -- the ECB made it clear it wanted to continue with the series and England's players finally decided to return to India on Sunday.

However, at that time English officials had not been able to make a detailed inspection of the Mohali ground and there were concerns the venue's relative distance from a major airport imposed addi tional security problems.

But Hugh Morris, having observed the arrangements

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put in place by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Punjab Cricket Association, said: "We have nothing but praise for the efforts of everyone at Mohali.

"They have received our recommendations and really embraced all of the ECB requests. We are now looking forward to an exciting Test series which starts in Chennai with some high quality cricket."

ECB chairman Giles Clarke added: "This demonstrates the strong and determined links that exist between the BCCI and the ECB.

"I am particularly grateful to IS Bindra, the ICC (International Cricket Council) president's special adviser, and the Punjab Cricket Association for all their hard work.

"We all now want to concentrate on this Test series which is extremely important for the game. I thank everyone for ensuring these matches go ahead."