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No penalty for opting-out - Miller

England's national selector, Geoff Miller, has paved the way for a weakened squad to return to India ahead of the forthcoming Test series, by insisting that no player will be penalised if they choose the safety-first option

Cricinfo staff
01-Dec-2008

Geoff Miller has told England's players that it's ok to stay at home, and Andrew Flintoff is likely to choose to do so © Getty Images
 
England's national selector, Geoff Miller, has paved the way for a weakened squad to return to India ahead of the forthcoming Test series, by insisting that no player will be penalised if they choose the safety-first option and decide to stay at home with their families.
Emphasising that safety was his priority, Miller told The Guardian that an opt-out would "not count against" anyone, and added: "Players need to be on their full mettle. There is no point in anyone going out there if their mind is on physical self-preservation. We need them performing with bat and ball. But depending on the character involved, it might not be right for some."
With that in mind, Miller added that England's captain, Kevin Pietersen, had been canvassing opinion from his team-mates, although as many as three senior players are already believed to have opted out. Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff, who picked up an ankle injury in last week's fifth ODI, are highly unlikely to travel back with the team, while James Anderson, whose wife is pregnant, is also a doubt.
Harmison, unsurprisingly, has been the most vocal dissenter in the England camp. "I'm sorry, but whatever is being asked of us in the next few days, at the moment, the idea of being asked to go back out there is the last thing on my mind," he told the Mail on Sunday. "This is beyond cricket. This is beyond anything. It's all very well for people back home to say we should carry on with the tour, but none of what has happened has anything to do with cricket."
The England squad is expected to fly back to India on Thursday or Friday, only a week after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai that killed more than 200 people. Mumbai had been scheduled to stage the second Test between December 19 and 23, but that venue has now been shifted to the southern city of Chennai. Talks are also underway about a change of venue for the first Test on December 11, with Ahmedabad expected to make way for Mohali.
The entire trip, however, still hinges on the content of the security report that is currently being compiled by Reg Dickason, the team's security advisor, with inputs from various sources such as the British government and the Indian board. Dickason, a regular member of the tour party in recent years, is said to be trusted "100%" by the players, although his assurances alone may not be enough to ensure a full-strength party for the Tests.
Nevertheless, for some fringe players of the England team, expediency alone may be enough to sway their opinions. The spinner, Graeme Swann, who stands to make his Test debut - nine years after his first England selection - told BBC Five Live that he was "not that keen" to return to India, but said he would be happy to abide by the contents of the report.
"I have every faith in Dickason, and if he comes back saying: 'Look guys, it's safe, we can go back there, we can do some good and get playing cricket' then I would go," said Swann. "Obviously it's tricky for people like myself who are trying to forge a regular place in the team. It comes down to thinking, 'If I don't go will I miss out on future selection' and stuff like that, which sort of clouds the issue a little bit. It's certainly not an easy decision to make and not one that anyone will be enjoying."
Speaking to BBC Radio Four's Today programme, the former England captain, Graham Gooch, said he believed the series remained in serious doubt. "The players have returned home, they'll have spoken to their families and young children and it's a tremendous pull on the heart-strings.
"Cricket teams around the world have [previously] been caught up in terrorist situations but have never been a target," said Gooch. "But it's been stated in this case that British and American passport holders were a target, so you'd have to think, sadly, that an England team and their supporters would be targets. If one individual decides they cannot go then others will probably follow."