God people complain

If people haven't got something to complain about then they will make something out of nothing as we can see, with the ECB having to defend why they scheduled, the first test of the England-West Indies series on a Wednesday. The victory inside three days against West Indies meant 20,000 people had to have tickets refunded. SO, people seem to be blaming the reason that it started on a Wednesday to why it finished inside three days instead if thinking that it was because England just played miles better then West Indies, it doesn't seem to have occurred to anybody that might be the reason. Instead of congratulating the England team, they seem to be blaming the ECB. They can't win, they blame them if they lose because of selection policies and if they win they blame them because of the days they start the matches on.

We have finally got there!!!

After spending the last 72 hours consulting security advisers and Government agencies at the highest level, the ECB has determined that England will leave for Abu Dhabi on Thursday (So that means they'll be fueled up for India, because all they'll be drinking is Fuel) . Yesterday Hugh Morris, Managing Director England Cricket said to the player that the tour will be going ahead because that the security was good. Well he said somert on the lines of that.The England test squad will practice in Abu Dhabi with nine members of the England Performance Squad and will fly on to India early next week for the two Test matches in Chennai and Mohali if the security recommendations have been implemented (Put into place) .Ryan Sidebottom, who was named in England’s original 15 man tour party, has been ruled out of the series with a side injury. Stuart Broad will miss the first Test having picked up a hamstring strain in Cuttack during the fifth one day international. He will remain in England for intensive physiotherapy and then fly out to Chennai where his fitness will be reviewed ahead of the second Test. The Test squad will be supplemented by nine players from the England Performance Programme Squad. England Test

Squad:

Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire) captain

Tim Ambrose (Warwickshire)

James Anderson (Lancashire)

Ian Bell (Warwickshire)

Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire) – travelling directly to ChennaiPaul

Collingwood (Durham)

Alastair Cook (Essex)

Andrew Flintoff (Lancashire)

Stephen Harmison (Durham)

Monty Panesar (Northamptonshire)

Matthew Prior (Sussex)

Owais Shah (Middlesex)

Andrew Strauss (Middlesex)

Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire)

Performance Squad:

Ravinder Bopara (Essex)

Mark Davies (Durham)

Robert Joseph (Kent)

Amjad Khan (Kent)

Sajid Mahmood (Lancashire)

Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire)L

iam Plunkett (Durham)

Oliver Rayner (Sussex)

Alan Richardson (Middlesex)

England are home but for what decision

England dropped down at Heathrow a couple of hours ago, so that means they are at the moment safe from the big boom bombs, in Mumbai. Will they be back, well who's knows, I don't! Officials from both England and India are adamant that the Test series will go ahead, particularly after the BCCI agreed to shift the second Test from Mumbai to Chennai after a request from the ECB. Is that enough though?, to me it sounds like no. It also sounds like Mr Pietersen doesn't want to go, but knows that if the team go he has to go or it'll look like hes a wuss.

He says:

We need to make sure the security's right - but if it's not safe then we won't be coming back," "People 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.
"I do think the BCCI will make every single effort to get us back here playing Test-match cricket in India. There are TV rights and financial considerations and they run world cricket don't they? But we will not come back to India if it's not safe. My life means more to me than anything else and I won't come back if it's not safe."

Sean Morris, the chief executive of the Professional Cricketers' Association, said the ultimate decision on the tour will rest with the ECB. "It won't be down to the players, it'll be down to the ECB ultimately, and we are comfortable with that, We have worked very well with our board in the past, so we are confident of the processes involved and with the people who provide the information."

There is the strong possibility of a weakened England side returning to India if players make individual decisions on whether to tour. There is a precedent for that, as following the 9/11 attacks in 2001 Robert Croft and Andrew Caddick opted out of the India tour.