England players may be happy to stay home

CRICKET NEWS: SEAN MORRIS, the players' union chief executive in England, will meet captain Kevin Pietersen and the rest of the England team when they fly into Heathrow this evening with the message that "cricket is no longer at the top of the agenda", writes Paul Weaver

Morris spoke with Pietersen and other senior players on behalf of the Professional Cricketers' Association yesterday and, between a series of meetings and phone calls following the attacks in Mumbai, he said: "The players want to spend some time with their families, who are obviously concerned with the situation in India.

"The England and Wales Cricket Board and the security experts will carry out a full review and analysis of the situation out there. Then we will sit down with the players and discuss the situation. We can't make any decisions at this stage."

England are due to return to India in a few days to play a warm-up game in Baroda - due to start on Friday - before the two Tests, which are now scheduled to take place in Ahmedabad, starting on December 11th, and Chennai.

But Morris added: "We have a duty of care, not just to the cricketers but to the support staff and the supporters. We have got to let the experts make their judgment. It is not for the players to decide. It is all a little early to say what will happen."

The players, though, may be difficult to budge once they have returned to the folds of their families and with Christmas lights twinkling in the shops that are still in business. The ECB could well rue the decision to return home.

If the England players are reluctant to return to India they will have an ally in Lord MacLaurin, the former chairman of the ECB.

"It was absolutely the right decision to come home," he said. "The England cricket team are very high-profile individuals. If these fanatics are going to target people then the England cricket side could be a very big target for them.

"My own view is that I would be very, very surprised if the security people will give them the okay to go back. I don't think they should go back. I think it's sad for cricket, but the safety of our players is absolutely paramount and I am sure the ECB will take the same view."

A negative security report would give the ECB and the players a straightforward get-out, and there was still gunfire in Mumbai last night.

But if the security experts say it is safe for England to go back then they might have to do exactly that, for there are contracts to fulfil.

Pietersen, reminding folk that this is not the age of deference, has said that none of his players would be forced back. Morris refused to discuss what he described as a "hypothetical" situation.

English cricket has been thrashed by India on and off the field in recent times, however, and if the players do fail to return against India's wishes the ECB could lose what little leverage it holds with Lalit Modi and his pals at the BCCI at a time when lucrative series between the countries in England are expected to be announced.

Vikram Solanki, the Worcestershire captain and former England one-day player who plays for the Mumbai Champs in the Indian Cricket League, has backed the players' decision to return.

"I'm sure they would have taken a lot of security advice. Two one-day internationals may have been cancelled but if you look at the bigger picture there has been a devastating attack on the commercial capital of India and a lot of people have lost their lives."

Meanwhile Pakistan's Cricket Board chairman, Ejaz Butt, says that India's tour of Pakistan in January is unlikely.

"Before this tragic incident took place we were pretty confident the Indians would tour," he said. "But now the scenario has definitely changed and it's entirely up the governments what they decide."

Pakistan have not played a Test series for a year, and Butt added: "If India do come for the tour it will send a clear-cut message to these terrorists they cannot deter the people of both countries from leading normal lives. If they don't come then we have the option of playing at neutral venues."

Guardian Service