London, December 4
England captain Kevin Pietersen today back-patted his teammates for showing courage and standing united by agreeing to return to terror-struck India for two-Test series without any pressure and be in sub-continent in its hour of need.

“It’s fantastic the guys want to go and rub shoulders together with India at a time of need. It’s a huge stance by this England team to jump on the plane and go and do the business,” he said before leaving for Abu Dhabi where England will practice ahead of the Tests.

“Everybody has become a bit more open-minded about their decision. They've spoken to family members and they have realised that it's pretty huge to go back to India. I didn’t persuade anybody, I respect everybody's individual concern and respect their decisions - they are men at the end of the day. I think it's very clear that nobody was told what to do,” he was quoted as saying by the BBC Sport.

The England team will leave Abu Dhabi on Monday for the first match starting December 11 in Chennai, after approval from security squad in India under the leadership of Reg Dickason. There will be no warm-up match in India. Pietersen also made it clear that need be it would be a collective decision of the players to come home.

“There’s a collective decision now. The guys are just waiting on reports from Reg (Dickason, the ECB security adviser) on Sunday night. If there are any alarm bells ringing the collective decision will be to come home,” Pietersen said. “But we are very focused on playing red-ball cricket,” he added.

On speculation that all rounder Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison would refuse to go back to India, Pietersen said “They became a lot more open-minded which is fantastic because they are two big players and we certainly want them in our team.” Meanwhile, Indian airports were put on high alert on following warnings of possible airborne attacks. Security was beefed up at city airports across the country, including the one in Chennai.

ECB managing director Hugh Morris said he was in the process of finding out more information about that development. “We are obviously concerned but what we need to do is find out the situation. I've spoken to our security team out in Chennai and when more information is fed back to me that will form part of the security audit.” — PTI

London, December 4
A full-strength England squad leaves for Abu Dhabi today with the cricket board giving its go ahead for the two-match Test series against India which was on the verge of being cancelled following the Mumbai terror attacks. “After spending the last 72 hours consulting security advisers and Government agencies at the highest level, the England and Wales Cricket Board has determined that England will leave for Abu Dhabi tomorrow (Thursday) to resume their two Test tour of India,” the ECB said in a statement.

Hugh Morris, Managing Director of England Cricket has outlined the players that the tour would go ahead, subject to security recommendations being implemented in India. “The England Test squad will therefore practice in Abu Dhabi along with nine members of the England Performance Squad and will fly on to India early next week if the security recommendations have been implemented.

“All the players have received reports from the ECB security team and also the recommendations that Reg Dickason, the team security adviser, has insisted the Board of Control for Cricket in India put in place,” the ECB statement read.

While the team practises in Abu Dhabi, Morris will join ECB security adviser Dickason, who is currently in India, to ensure that all security requirements are fully and effectively implemented in both Test venues of Chennai and Mohali.

Morris will then fly to Abu Dhabi to confirm to the ECB and the players that the added security recommendations are in place for the tour to begin.

“While we have sought to reassure players that their safety is paramount we have not pressurised any player into making the trip against their will. Those who leave for Abu Dhabi are all anticipating travelling to India if both Sean (Morris) and I are happy that Reg Dickason’s security plans have been activated. The Board and players will be kept fully informed,” Morris said.

Test squad: Kevin Pietersen (captain), Tim Ambrose, James Anderson, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Andrew Flintoff, Stephen Harmison, Monty Panesar, Matthew Prior, Owais Shah, Andrew Strauss, Graeme Swann.

Performance squad: Ravinder Bopara, Mark Davies, Robert Joseph, Amjad Khan, Sajid Mahmood, Samit Patel, Liam Plunkett, Oliver Rayner, Alan Richardson. — PTI

Chennai, December 4
Yuvraj Singh was today handed a fresh opportunity to resurrect his Test career and cement the middle order slot left vacant by Sourav Ganguly after he was named in India's Test squad for the two-match series against England beginning next week. Apart from Yuvraj, left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha was also rewarded with a berth in the 15-member squad which had no place for paceman Rudra Pratap Singh.

Tamil nadu opener Murali Vijay, who made his debut in the fourth Test against Australia in Nagpur, and his statemate S Badrinath have both been retained in the team announced by the BCCI after a meeting of the selection committee.

There were no major surprises in the team with the selectors preferring to more or less retain the same group that had done duty in the recent Test series against Australia. The 26-year-old Yuvraj forced his way back into Test reckoning because 
of his sizzling form in the recent one-day series against England before it was called off following the terror attacks in Mumbai.

The Punjab batsman, who has not been able to make much of an impact on the longer version of the game so far, will get another chance to cement a place in the team, particularly after the retirement of fellow left-hander Sourav Ganguly. Yuvraj had last played a Test against South Africa in Kanpur in April and appears to be a certainty for the first Test against England to be held in Chennai from December 11 to 15.

England are scheduled to play the first Test in Chennai from December 11-15 and the second Test in Mohali from December 19-23 after the itinerary was revised following the terror attacks in Mumbai. — PTI 

The squad

M S Dhoni (capt);

Sehwag (vice-captain);

Gautam Gambhir;

Rahul Dravid;

Sachin Tendulkar;

VVS Laxman;

Yuvraj Singh;

Amit Mishra;

Harbhajan Singh;

Zaheer Khan;

Ishant Sharma;

S Badrinath;

Munaf Patel;

Murali Vijay;

Pragyan Ojha

London, December 4
England cricket captain Kevin Pietersen has been able to persuade key all-rounder Andrew Flintoff to undertake the tour of India in spite of fears in the minds of players following last week's terror attacks in Mumbai. According to The Sun, Pietersen talked Flintoff into ignoring his safety concerns and agreeing in principle to appear in the two-Test series that begins from December 11.

Fast bowler Steve Harmison has also agreed to play on. Injured fast bowler Ryan Sidebottom will be the only absentee. The players, however, have said that they will give a final commitment after hearing updated security reports on Sunday. They will travel to Abu Dhabi today for practice and fly to Chennai on Monday.

Flintoff's move comes after plenty of phone conversations with Pietersen during the past few days. England managing director Hugh Morris said: “Kevin has been incredibly supportive and it's nice to see the players lining up behind him.” — ANI

London, December 4
Contrary to media reports, England batsman Andrew Strauss claimed his teammates are happy to be returning to India for the two-Test series later this month, notwithstanding the Mumbai terror attacks.

Strauss, a part of the England squad which flies to Abu Dhabi today to get some practice ahead of the Test series, said it was only natural that the players thought of their families soon after the attacks, which saw them returning home abandoning the last two ODIs against India.

"To begin with there was a lot of shock and emotion as it seemed close to home. That was the hotel we stayed in before and we were due to again. When things like that happen, you think about being with your family and cricket's not such a priority," Strauss told 'BBC'. With the dust gradually settling down, Strauss said it was the right decision to resume the tour. “But after a few days to let things settle down, we've been able to look at things logically and objectively - it seems the right thing to do for the game of cricket,” he said. — PTI 

Barasat, December 4
Goa football giant Dempo SC began their 30th Federation Cup campaign in style, thrashing State Bank of Travancore (SBT) 3-0 in a one-sided affair at the Vidyasagar Krirangan here today. SBT was no match for Dempo as the Goan side banged in first two goals in the opening 15 minutes.

With their ace striker Ranty Martins, who is nursing a hamstring pull, opting to sit out, Dempo displayed commendable performance throughout the match, which would definitely boost the morale of coach Aramando Colaco.

While youngster Clifton Gonsalves, who banged in the second goal, displayed a cool temperament up front in absence of Ranty, Roberto Mendes Silva set the piece for the strikers, proving to be the real playmaker as SBT defence was in a complete disarray.

SBT, who made the cut in the new format of the Federation Cup becoming the toppers in preliminary round in Group A, did get a solitary chance to reduce the margin but simply the Travancore side found it hard to find the Dempo goal.

Clifford Miranda gave Dempo the lead in 12th minute which exposed the chinks in SBT’s defence. Miranda anticipated well a brilliant cross from Joaquim Abranches from the right flank and placed himself perfectly in front of SBT goalmouth only to his header rebound from the crossbar.

However, with SBT custodian PV Harshal Rehman out of his goal line, Miranda got a second chance from the rebound and this time he did not falter to help Dempo go 1-0 up. Just before SBT realised their gaping loopholes, Dempo banged in another within a space of one minute through Clifton.

Taking advantage of a loose defence at the goalmouth, Clifton got the better of SBT defender Sarath BT without losing his cool and finished it off in style in the 13th minute. Dempo completed the thrashing with the third goal coming in the 48th minute, courtesy Anthony Pereira. — PTI 

Melbourne, December 4
With the top cricketers demanding more pay and less work, Cricket Australia faces a potential players' revolt, according to media report here. According to a 'Herald Sun' investigation, the Australian cricketers feel their contract is too demanding while the likes of Andrew Symonds are okay with less pay if that means a reduction in media interaction and appearance with the sponsors.

Symonds, in fact, offered a Australian $250,000 cut to be spared the media and sponsor interactions. According to existing norms, the cricketers make 22 sponsorship appearances in a year for CA and their state associations.

Australian Cricketers' Association chief executive Paul Marsh said media and sponsorship obligation would top the agenda when CA meets later this month over a new memorandum of understanding. — PTI

BRIEFLY

London
'Warne the Musical' to hit theatre soon: More than a year after his retirement from international cricket, Shane Warne continues to fascinate and the flamboyant Australian now has become the subject of a musical to be staged in Melbourne this week. ‘Shane Warne: The Musical’ took three years in making and according to the promoters -- “sets out both to celebrate and understand the life of cricket’s most adored and maligned hero as he battles fame, failure, fidelity and the ferocious Australian media.” The show will open at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne and is the brainchild of Eddie Perfect. — PTI

Sydney
Ponting brushes aside wrist injury: Australian captain Ricky Ponting has dismissed concerns that his career will be cut short by a chronic wrist injury and is confident of playing for at least three more years. Ponting visited surgeon Greg Hoy for a check-up on his injured wrist and the doctor apparently gave a positive report. “Today was more of a check-up, it’s the first opportunity I’ve had to see Greg since I resumed playing again,” Ponting told AAP. “I’ve had a bit of discomfort over the last few months but most players have a bit of pain they carry through. All the results this morning were good,” he added. — UNI

Dubai
T20 WC venues at ICC quarterly meeting: The International Cricket Council will decide the venues for the 2010 Twenty20 World Cup at its quarterly meeting in Perth on January 31 and February 1 next year. As per the host agreement, the West Indies Cricket Board has undertaken to recommend its preferred venues to the ICC, which would take its decision based on those recommendations. “The ICC World Twenty20 2010 in the West Indies promises to be another memorable event and we are looking forward to receiving the WICB's recommendations,” said ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat. — PTI

Mumbai
Tendulkar meets women cricketers: Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar took time off after his net session today to give tips to the women cricketers of Mumbai who are preparing for the forthcoming All India Super League limited overs tournament. Tendulkar, who had started practicing yesterday for the upcoming two-Test rubber against England, advised the women cricketers to become mentally strong and emulate Mumbai men cricketers, according to team coach Anjali Pedneker. “He talked to our batters as well as bowlers. He told them about how to become mentally strong,” said Pedneker. — PTI

New Delhi
Top seed Ranjeet cruises into semis: Top seed Ranjeet Virali Murugesan powered his way into the semifinals of the national men’s tennis championship with a straight-sets win over Arjun Gautham as second seed Rohan Gide was shown the door by unseeded Sriram Balaji Narayanswamy here on Thursday. Tamil Nadu’s Ranjeet cashed in on the error-prone game of Karnataka's Goutham to register a 6-3, 6-4 win in the singles quarterfinals at the DLTA Complex. Tamil Nadu’s Balaji shocked Rohan Gide 7-6, 6-2 to set up a semifinal clash with Aditya Madkekar, who tamed Vijayant Malik 6-1, 6-2. — PTI

Jalandhar
International cricket stadium for Punjab: A comprehensive sports complex containing an international cricket stadium, estimated at a whopping cost of Rs 200 crore, will replace the ancient Burlton park stadium here soon. “Approval for the project has already been obtained from general house of Municipal Corporation and under the consultation of Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) a renowned architect has been assigned the task to finalise the design of the proposed international cricketstadium,” Rakesh Rathore, Mayor of MCJ told PTI. 
— PTI