England returning home from India
Sunday, 30 November 2008
England's cricketers flew back to London Saturday with uncertainty still surrounding the two-Test series against India after the Mumbai terror attacks, BBC reports.
Skipper Kevin Pietersen insists none of his players will be forced to return to India if they feel it would be unsafe.
Indian officials insisted the series would go ahead and moved the second Test from Mumbai to Chennai.
England are set to arrive in London at about 1915 GMT Saturday with a media briefing expected shortly afterwards.
The future of the tour will depend on the security reports provided by consultant Reg Dickason and talks between the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
Pietersen told the BBC before leaving India: "We will make every effort to come back for the Tests, but at the end of the day if it's not safe we won't be coming back.
"I'll never force anybody. A man is a man and he can make his own decisions."
The first Test is set to start on 11 December in Ahmedabad and the second, scheduled for Mumbai from 19 December, was switched by the BCCI Friday to the southern city of Chennai.
The Test series will still be preceded by a three-day practice match in Baroda from 5-7 December, said the BCCI in a statement. It did not say, however, whether England had accepted the itinerary.
England were trailing 5-0 in the one-day series before the final two matches were postponed and a frustrated Pietersen hinted at his desire to return for the Tests.
"It's been a hard few days," he said. "I've had the highs of beating South Africa and then we went to Stanford, which was a hard week.
Skipper Kevin Pietersen insists none of his players will be forced to return to India if they feel it would be unsafe.
Indian officials insisted the series would go ahead and moved the second Test from Mumbai to Chennai.
England are set to arrive in London at about 1915 GMT Saturday with a media briefing expected shortly afterwards.
The future of the tour will depend on the security reports provided by consultant Reg Dickason and talks between the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
Pietersen told the BBC before leaving India: "We will make every effort to come back for the Tests, but at the end of the day if it's not safe we won't be coming back.
"I'll never force anybody. A man is a man and he can make his own decisions."
The first Test is set to start on 11 December in Ahmedabad and the second, scheduled for Mumbai from 19 December, was switched by the BCCI Friday to the southern city of Chennai.
The Test series will still be preceded by a three-day practice match in Baroda from 5-7 December, said the BCCI in a statement. It did not say, however, whether England had accepted the itinerary.
England were trailing 5-0 in the one-day series before the final two matches were postponed and a frustrated Pietersen hinted at his desire to return for the Tests.
"It's been a hard few days," he said. "I've had the highs of beating South Africa and then we went to Stanford, which was a hard week.