posted Nov 30, 2008

If the players and staff do not feel safe, they should not go. It's as simple as that.

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posted Nov 30, 2008

England should not be allowed to go back to India because of the crimes they have committed against cricket. They have been a thorough embarrassment to the country,the badge,the Queen,the national anthem,Marmite,Horlicks and Manchester rain and we shouldn't expect anyone to be asked to witness and certainly not pay to see such dire dross from all those have turned up in an English shirt thus far including the South African captain.Take away their passports Home Minister and place them with the other incompetents from rugby union in a santitised secure area where no one will ever have to suffer their inefficiency and worst still,the pot game excuses,again.

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posted Nov 30, 2008

Did Londoners stop going to work after the 7/7 bombings ? Did he Aussie cricketers demand to be flown home rather than continue the Ashes series ? Do motorits stop using the M1 or M6 just because an accident happened on a stretch of road they used last week, or were planning to use next week ?
Of course not, and nor should our cricketers be put off this tour.

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posted Nov 30, 2008

The terroists have already won. They intended to create terror and murder people and that is what they have achieved.

It's easy to judge from our laptops but imagine if the team went back and any players were hurt or even killed. Anyone saying these guys should go back need to get in touch with reality.

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posted Dec 1, 2008

Part of being a Test cricketer is the willingness to get out of your comfort zone, and go to countries where conditions are very different from those in your bakcyard....

Remember David Gower's men? They toured India at a time when Indira Gandhi was assassinated, and had dinner with the British deputy high commissioner, just hours before he was shot dead. But they decided to go on with the tour, and bounced back from losing an early Test to take the series 2-1....

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/cricket/article5258999.ece

If English cricketers feel happier playing in English conditions, then they can always give up their England career, and concentrate on county cricket. Those who are willing to take part in trying circumstances should step forward and express an interest in the tour....

Mumbai is off the schedule, and the likelihood is that Ahmedabad will be as well. If the Tests are played in Chennai and Mohali, then it should be safe enough for England to play there. Anyone who feels like they don't want to go to India should not be forced to do so. I'm sure there will be some English cricketers willing to take part in a Test tour of Chennai and Mohali....

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posted Dec 1, 2008

Did Londoners stop going to work after the 7/7 bombings ? Did he Aussie cricketers demand to be flown home rather than continue the Ashes series ?

============

Actually a lot of them did, and the Aussies were given the option of going home but chose to stay.

Comparing 7/7 with the Mumbai atrocities though is a pathetic gesture. 7/7 was four nutters with rucksacks blowing themselves up on a tube, indiscriminately killing people on those trains at the time, be they British, Australian, American, Indian, Pakistani, Russian, Egyptian, Christian, Muslim, Jew or Mormon. The Mumbai attackers picked specific targets (Jewish centre, hotels popular with westerners) and asked for British and American passport holders, who were then held hostage. This was a planned attack against westerners, 7/7 was a random attack. THAT'S why there is a difference, my friend.

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posted Dec 1, 2008

THe news is overplaying the 'targetting' of British and American passport holders, for obvious reasons. 90% of those killed in the Mumbai attacks were Indian....

I was one of those who went to work after the 7/7 bombings, and the tube I took was full. The majority of workers at my office also turned up for work the day after.

If individual England players choose to stay home, that's there decision. But there are a lot of Brits holidaying in other parts of India, like CHennai and Mohali, who are fine. Those two cities are a long way from Mumbai, and it that's where the BCCI are hosting the two Tests, I don't see why England can't send a team to play there....

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posted Dec 1, 2008

I used the tube on the ninth at before midday, northern line, usually packed. EMPTY.

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posted Dec 1, 2008

Shivfan, the usual assumption that England won't tour. Why? It's India and Pakistan who are cancelling their series, not England and not one of the India-Pakistan Tests was to be played in Mumbai.

England will tour, as they always have and the usual Brit-bashers will try to claim cowardice for not wanting to tour/refusing to play in certain cities/having cancelled series for spurious reasons time and again (we haven't, but West Indies, India, New Zealand and Australia all have in recent times - surely that is different, right?).

Too much politicking with a tragedy.

Too much disinformation.

And a heck of a lot of hypochrisy.

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posted Dec 2, 2008

I luv cricket. But why on earth the english tour should go ahead? Even if all the players finally agree to play, mental strain does not allow them to play quality cricket. All this stuff on 'it will be a victory to terror, if tour does not go ahead' is just a lip service by ECB n BCCI. This is an ideal example for conflict between commerce n common sense where commercial interest are taking over the common sense. The gentlemen ruling the game are not worried about players' safety, instead they are more worried about draining advertisement revenues.

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