Players wait for security reports

England's cricketers are waiting for security reports from India before deciding if they will play the first Test. The full squad is flying to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates to prepare for the match and they plan to move on to Chennai on Monday, three days before the match begins. England captain Kevin Pietersen has admitted the players could pull out of the two Test fixtures if they have any concerns about their safety following the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Pietersen said: "I think it is important that we go back to India and rub shoulder to shoulder with the Indian people in their time of of need. We are happy to show our support. "We are very focused to play some red-ball cricket. We will assess the situation on Sunday but we are very confident of playing a Test match and we are focused on that." The series of seven one-day matches in India was cut short last month and the players flew home. Pietersen added: "We are buying ourselves more more time in Abu Dhabi. It is great that the players who went to India are willing to go back. "But, if the security is right we will go as a collective." Before leaving Heathrow airport with the rest of the squad, Pietersen revealed there has been a shift in the opinion of his team-mates and he described them as being "open-minded". Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad have not travelled with the squad because they are being treated for injuries. Security has been tightened at Chennai aiport following threats of plane hijacking. Hugh Morris, the managing director of English cricket, said: "We need to find out the information surrounding that. I have spoken to our security team in Chennai already this morning. "They are finding out the details around the alerts and when they get the information they will feed the information back to me and then I will provide that information to the board."

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ITN | December 4, 2008

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