Will England return to India?

If they do, I think it will be with a different looking squad. A coomon thread in today's papers is that Fred and Harmy are likely to pull out.

Guess you can't force people to go back.

Big farkin hypocrite though is Fred if he makes any IPL noises in the next week or so....

I'm certain that England will go back and tour, but that the team will be very different from the one you would expect. Fringe players will probably be more willing to tour so that they can secure a place, whilst some of the 'family men' currently in the side will make the conscious and sensible decision to stay at home. Pietersen seems adamant that he will tour, making him the captain. I personally would quite look forward to seeing the likes of Owais Shah, Ravi Bopara, Ed Joyce, Samit Patel and Adil Rashid given a chance, for what it's worth. It would probably make the tour more interesting from my perspective, anyway, even when we got tonked. We're going to get tonked anyway so it would be nice to see how well some of the backups stand up to Test Cricket. I'm convinced that a lot of them could do no worse and that many would do much, much better (with Ed Joyce as a wildcard).

Oh, exciting times ahead.

Might be that India don't want England to come if they're not bringing their best team. Cheaping cricket and all that.

Who knows?

The only certainty is that it'll be messy and drawn-out and someone will make a c*nt of themselves. Modi or Clarke. Probably both.

Dello wrote:Might be that India don't want England to come if they're not bringing their best team. Cheaping cricket and all that.

Who knows?

The only certainty is that it'll be messy and drawn-out and someone will make a c*nt of themselves. Modi or Clarke. Probably both.

Will make?

I'm afraid the good ship HMS ModiIsAQunt sailed a long time ago.

One or two may opt out, bu they will go back, pretty sure of that.

If the ECB and Indian security experts say its safe to go I think they'll have to go otherwise the ECB may face a bill for several million to compensate the BCCI.

rey wrote:If the ECB and Indian security experts say its safe to go I think they'll have to go otherwise the ECB may face a bill for several million to compensate the BCCI.

Not if the Foreign Office tell them not to go.

Agree if the Foreign office advises them not to go them compensation does not come into question.

The ECB will want the moral high ground against the BCCI that returning to play the tests will give them. Fred can kiss the IPL goodbye if he doesn't tour.

rey wrote:If the ECB and Indian security experts say its safe to go I think they'll have to go otherwise the ECB may face a bill for several million to compensate the BCCI.

And then they all get butchered and the security experts go "well, we thought it was safe" and the ECB goes "well, at least we didn't get sued" and the BCCI go "Money. Lovely, precious money. I love you, dollar Bill..."

No-one has to do anything.

Here's an idea...lets just fark the whole subi continental thing RIGHT OFF and just play Tests between the Aussies, English, Kiwis, Yarpies, and Windies...

We can expand the ODIs to include the Dutch, Scots, Kenyans, etc...but the subis can go mod themselves.

Why stop there ? Let all tests in Australia be played at Perth in future.
I suggest you run this by the WA warriors, they were pretty desparate to go to India and fill their coffers a day after the Mumbai attack !

lunch time entertainment could be men in white hoods and a few subis

Invader Zim wrote:Here's an idea...lets just fark the whole subi continental thing RIGHT OFF and just play Tests between the Aussies, English, Kiwis, Yarpies, and Windies...

We can expand the ODIs to include the Dutch, Scots, Kenyans, etc...but the subis can go mod themselves.

Are you suggesting that we...

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Ban India?

KP has already suggested that he will be going to IND.

Of course KP will go. It's a question of who will follow him. Harmison almost certainly wont go, and Flintoff is apparently seriously considering pulling out. Flintoff faces the biggest dillemma. If he pulls out of the tests, then he can kiss an IPL contract goodbye probably forever.

In all honesty, the entire England squad is probably hoping like hell that the tour will be called off, but I don't think it's gonna happen. They were gonna get beaten anyway but now it could be a thrashing.

Henry wrote:Of course KP will go. It's a question of who will follow him. Harmison almost certainly wont go, and Flintoff is apparently seriously considering pulling out. Flintoff faces the biggest dillemma. If he pulls out of the tests, then he can kiss an IPL contract goodbye probably forever.

In all honesty, the entire England squad is probably hoping like hell that the tour will be called off, but I don't think it's gonna happen. They were gonna get beaten anyway but now it could be a thrashing.

same KP?

"Pietersen issued a thinly-veiled threat to the England and Wales Cricket Board when he said he would make his own decision if the governing body failed to pull the team out of the competition." - Telegraph


"Kevin Pietersen says he has serious reservations about travelling to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy later this year amid growing security fears.

"I've definitely got reservations - 100% - about going to Pakistan," the England batsman told BBC Radio 5 Live."


"Kevin Pietersen yesterday spoke out about the England players' reluctance to play in September's Champions Trophy in Pakistan because of security concerns" - Guardian

"Kevin Pietersen last night hailed the decision of cricket chiefs to postpone September's Champions Trophy in Pakistan until 2009.

Pietersen was one of the most vocal opponents of the competition before he became England captain and confirmed his position had not changed." - The Mirror

rey wrote:If the ECB and Indian security experts say its safe to go I think they'll have to go otherwise the ECB may face a bill for several million to compensate the BCCI.

I assume India will be touring Pakistan as scheduled.

taipan,
Just for a second i thought you turned "Red"(this avatar is a lot better)

As far as I'm concerned, decision should be left to concerned individual. If KP wants to tour, great, if Freddie doesn't then fair enough. I can fully understand reluctant players' predicament.

You just can't force someone to tour a place which he deems unsafe.

Either Mohali or Eden Gardens will probably host the first test instead of A'medabad, venue for the first test.

Harmy's not really a surprise. He was probably reluctant even before the attacks.

FWIW, cricket teams receive massive massive security in India. So, I don't think they are in any more danger than they would be at their own homes. But, in the end, it's really a very personal decision.

The fact that the entire England team HAD STAYED AT the Taj a mere 10 days before and had left their white kit in storage there BRINGs IT ALL CLOSER TO HOME ...

The back-packing terrorists would clearly have still have got through ... and then what ????
What "massive security".

Harmisson has a wife and two very young children ... cut him some slack FFS.

You know, massive security = many commandos stationed in front of the hotel, patrolling the streets, restricting movement in and around the area. 24hr presence.

So, the backpacking terrorists may not have 'clearly' gotten through, but thankfully we'll never know.