The Alastair Cook-led England team has arrived here alongwith a couple of Indian players for the first ODI of the five-match series to be held at SCA stadium on January 11.

"The entire England team led by captain Alastair Cook and two Indian players - Ishant Sharma and Gautam Gambhir - arrived in a special plane from New Delhi today. The rest of the players, except Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja, would join the team later," an official of the Saurashtra Cricket Association said.

India's practice session has been scheduled for Thursday morning.

Elaborate security
Elaborate security arrangements have been made for the first ODI. "As many as 1,300 policemen including four SPs and 25 DySPs have been deployed in and outside the SCA stadium where the first ODI between India and England will be played," Rajkot Rural Superintendent of Police Premveer Singh said.

The hotel, where both the teams are staying, has also been turned into a fortress with deployment of around 125 policemen, the official said.

However, the SCA has not installed fencing on the boundary line so that viewers can watch the match uninterrupted but has put up as many as 40 CCTVs to keep a close eye on the crowd.