England to come home but say they'll return for the Tests

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13 April 2012

England will fly home from India tomorrow but are set to return to play a two-Test series despite the terrorist attacks in Mumbai which have left more than 100 people dead.

Kevin Pietersen and his team will fly home tomorrow - but could yet return to India in time for a two-Test series which is scheduled to start a fortnight today in Ahmedabad.

After a day of talks, confusion and discussions, England managing director Hugh Morris emerged tonight from a meeting with senior players and team management to announce that the squad would leave in the morning. Indian officials, however, insist the two Test will still be played and the tourists have not ruled out that possibility.

The longer term future of the tour will now depend on security reports and Foreign Office advice.

The last two limited-overs internationals, due to be played on Saturday and next Tuesday, have already been postponed but Lalit Modi, the allpowerful vice president of the Board of Cricket Control for India remained upbeat about the Test series.

"The two Test matches are going on, definitely going on," he said, "The only issue is that the Mumbai Test will be moved."

England's performance squad, based in Bangalore, will be flying home soon.

"It's an evolving situation and we are taking security advice from a number of different sources," said Morris. "We hope to take it forward in the near future."

The fact several eye-witnesses in Mumbai have said the terrorists were specifically trying to identify British and American passport holders can only add to the players' sense of concern.
"They are clearly very disturbed by the tragic events," said Morris. "The players feel desperately sorry for all those caught up in it."

Indian Board officials moved swiftly to postpone the £4million Twenty20 Champions League "for a few months". England's Cup holders Middlesex were set to launch the tournament in Mumbai next week with a game against Australian side Victoria but they shelved their plans to fly out this morning and must now wait to see if it is rearranged.

The Taj Mahal Palace hotel, scene of one of the attacks, is where the England team stayed a fortnight ago. They are due to return ahead of the Second Test, which is scheduled to start on 19 December. It is also the hotel the Middlesex party were planning to book into this evening.

"[The situation] is horrific," said Middlesex captain Shaun Udal. "What has made it particularly disturbing is we were going to stop there [the Taj Mahal Palace hotel]. If we had gone 24 hours earlier, it could have been us.

"Calling it off is disappointing from a cricket point of view but it's the sensible decision. Players' safety has to come first. They are looking at other dates and, hopefully, we can go then."

Even before the Champions League decision was taken, England's request for the postponement of the last two one-day internationals — in Guwahati and Delhi — had been approved, leaving India 5-0 ahead in the series.

England players remained in their Bhubaneswar hotel today. They had an hour-long meeting with the management and will hold further talks with ECB officials before making an announcement.

Sean Morris, chief executive of the Professional Cricketers' Association, spoke to Pietersen from London this afternoon and said: "This is not a time for cricket politics. The players are concerned and Kevin is listening to security updates.

"This is a difficult time for the entire squad and naturally there is some concern from their families at home. But any decision about the future of the tour will be taken by senior ECB executives, not the players."

England to come home but say they'll return for the Tests

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