The watchwords are safety and security but captain Kevin Pietersen has been keen to show solidarity with a country currently troubled by terrorism.A bomb alert.

On Thursday at the airport England would fly into - Chennai - further confused the picture as players face one of the toughest decisions of their careers.

Pietersen stressed the virtues of going 'shoulder to shoulder' with the Indian people in their 'hour of need', and of 'going back to play cricket in a wonderful country'."It's fantastic that the players want to go back. I'm confident we are going to get 15 lads that will go," he added.

But, beneath the surface, high-profile players like Andrew Flintoff, with a young family at home, will want the England and Wales Cricket Board to listen closely to security advice.The squad's security adviser, Reg Dickason, is in India checking developments in both Chennai and Mohali, the venue for the second test.

There will be a meeting of players, management and advisers in Abu Dhabi on Sunday to decide whether to fly on to Chennai or go home.Pietersen wants this to be a 'collective' decision, however the reality is likely to be that individual players will have their own feelings in a complex situation.

Hugh Morris, the managing director of the ECB, confesses to 'concern' over the renewed terror threats in India, in particular the one affecting Chennai aiport.Pietersen insists no players had to be persuaded to join the flight to Abu Dhabi and there is an open-mindedness among a squad who flew home only last week because of the attacks on Mumbai.

He explained: "I didn't persuade anybody. They make decisions for themselves. Nobody was told what to do."If England do travel on to Chennai on Monday, Pietersen and his squad would be warmly welcomed for going 'shoulder to shoulder'.

However, if they decide to fly home because of security concerns, then they may be congratulated for trying.A more difficult situation will arise if one or two players decide themselves not to join the rest in India.