Some English players may pull out

Published : Dec 06, 2008 00:00 IST

Players are their own people, I'll never force anyone to do anything or tell them to do anything against their will. On the field I may ask people to do things in a certain way but people run their own lives. -- Kevin Pietersen-K. R. DEEPAK
Players are their own people, I'll never force anyone to do anything or tell them to do anything against their will. On the field I may ask people to do things in a certain way but people run their own lives. -- Kevin Pietersen-K. R. DEEPAK
lightbox-info

Players are their own people, I'll never force anyone to do anything or tell them to do anything against their will. On the field I may ask people to do things in a certain way but people run their own lives. -- Kevin Pietersen-K. R. DEEPAK

The England and Wales Cricket Board insists that the team must honour Test schedule. By David Hopps.

The England and Wales Cricket Board is bracing itself for a potential confrontation over its right to run the game if security reports judge that the Test series in India should go ahead in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai that have left India in a state of profound shock.

The Indian board has shifted the venue of the second Test from Mumbai to Chennai after a request from the ECB for a venue in southern India. The first Test, surprisingly, remains in Ahmedabad, another city that has suffered recent terrorist violence, and the warm-up match has yet to be moved from Vadadora. The dates of the game are unchanged, with the Chennai Test beginning on December 19.

The majority of England's squad arrived at Heathrow after flying from Bhubaneshwar to Bangalore to join the High Performance squad. Many England players have been adamant that they will not return, although it remains to be seen if those feelings will soften. An intense week of negotiations between the ECB and players' representatives is now inevitable.

That debate will be partly based on an updated report compiled by Reg Dickason, England's security officer. If the Foreign Office has not adjusted its advice for any Indian city other than Mumbai it is hard to see how Dickason could take a tougher line. However the England players, who repeatedly express faith in his judgment, might expect him to do just that.

The ECB, which anticipates that some players would pull out of the ? tour, is likely to look on these sympathetically, but the impression is that an England team will tour India even if severely weakened.

An England side that has just lost 5-0 in a one-day series can hardly regard itself as irreplaceable. Any attempt by the Professional Cricketers' Association to organise a collective refusal to travel in the light of a critical security report could also cause a major stand-off between the ECB and players' representatives.

Kevin Pietersen, England's captain, did not talk of a collective decision as England left Bhubaneshwar, but of people's right to run their own lives. Presumably that should go for those who do wish to represent England in India as well as those who do not.

"We need to make sure the security's right -- but if it's not safe, then we won't be coming back," he said. "Players are their own people, I'll never force anyone to do anything or tell them to do anything against their will. On the field I may ask people to do things in a certain way but people run their own lives. We'll have to see how the security is.

"The television coverage here has been pretty graphic. I've heard back home it's not been like that but out here you see pools of blood, you see everything that has been going on. We've woken up this morning and seen more pictures of people jumping out of helicopters where we were two weeks ago. It's really made the guys aware and shocked them.

"I bet all the guys lost a whole battery on their mobiles yesterday with calls from friends and relatives and kids wanting to know where daddy is."

The threat of terrorism is now a perpetual feature of an international cricketer's life, although such are the levels of hotel security they receive the likelihood that guns and explosives could be smuggled into a hotel while they were there is far lower than when they are not.

The International Cricket Council has insisted that it has "no role to ? play in the current situation", although any disagreement between the ECB and the Indian board over safety would bring a security assessment that the ICC would regard as binding and could conceivably bring large financial penalties if the ECB was unable to accept its findings.

Sean Morris, the PCA chief executive, has talked of security advisers assessing the Indian situation "in the cold light of day" and determining "is it safe to return or not?" Morris said that the players would accept that advice as long as the security situation does not deteriorate further.

Ejaz Butt, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, believes that the terrorist attacks in Mumbai could force the cancellation of India's tour to Pakistan in January.

The Indian board is awaiting guidance from its government, and Butt said: "Now the scenario has definitely changed and now it is entirely up to the governments what they decide.

We must wait and see what will happen." Cancellation would be another blow for Pakistan, who have not played a Test match for almost a year.

Lalit Modi continued to insist that the Twenty20 Champions League was not postponed because of security fears but for logistical reasons.

He went so far as to claim: "All eight teams tried to implore us to continue with the Champions League and just change Mumbai. Logistically, we could not replace a venue in 48 hours. We proposed the postponement."

� Guardian Newspapers Limited 2008

More stories from this issue

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment