TEST SERIES IN ENGLAND(1990)

India came into the first Test at Lord's in sparkling form with a string of wins, including a 2-0 sweep in the ODI series. But they came up against Gooch, and his 333 and 123 guided England to a 247-run win. That was enough to secure the series 1-0. A batting paradise at Manchester produced a great game, India finishing on 343 for 6 chasing 408, Sachin Tendulkar making 119 and Mohammad Azharuddin his second successive hundred. At The Oval, India made England follow on, but David Gower, playing for his place on that winter's Ashes tour, made a brilliant 157 to save the match. The series was entertaining from the off, and was played in sublime weather than necessitated a hosepipe ban. There was nothing to separate the teams, except the toss at Lord's. Tests: England 1 India 0 Drawn 2,ODIs: England 0 India 2.

Cricket facing its toughest Tests

IT is essential the game reacts with a united front in the wake of last week's horrific events in Mumbai
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And what effects the marauding gunmen, grenades in hotel lobbies and battlefield scenes have had. 

The England Performance squad missed the carnage by chance, their training camp moved at the last minute from Mumbai to Bangalore, and are joining the full England one day squad who are already home; the Champions League is postponed, with Middlesex luckily escaping being in the Taj Mahal hotel by 24 hours; luminaries such as Shane Warne are concerned about playing in India again and next month's two-Test series against England is hanging by the slimmest of threads. 

Kevin Pietersen has publicly stated that no player will be forced to tour and now they must wait for the various security reports. 

"The BBCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India] will provide one and the ECB (English Cricket Broad] security officer Reg Dickason will compile one, but I'm not sure there is time for an independent (report] because if we are going to play the series the players need to get out there pretty soon and start preparing," said Sean Morris, chief executive of the Professional Cricketer's Association. "It was thought that with the families in such distress it was best to get the players back home, allow everyone to cool down the emotions and then calmly examine the situation and make a well informed decision about the Test series, but the basis of that decision will come from the security reports."

Such is the mistrust of Lalit Modi, the BCCI vice-president and shotgun mouth, that the BCCI report will probably be taken with a pinch of salt by the players. Of more importance will be the thoughts of ECB security officer Dickason.

Players could decide fate of series - Pietersen

The fate of England's Test tour to India lies in the hands of the players themselves, according to their captain, Kevin Pietersen, as the team prepares to fly home from the country in the wake of the terrorist atrocities that have rocked Mumbai over the past two days.

Officials from both England and India are adamant that the Test series will go ahead, particularly after the BCCI agreed to shift the second Test from Mumbai to Chennai on a request from the ECB. But according to Pietersen, the situation is not so cut-and-dried. If his team-mates have reservations about taking part, he will not be forcing them to re-join the tour.

"We need to make sure the security's right - but if it's not safe then we won't be coming back," Pietersen told Sky Sports. "People are their own people, I'll never force anyone to do anything or tell them to do anything against their will. On the field I may ask people to do things in a certain way but people run their own lives. We'll have to see how the security is."

Despite the postponement of the final two ODI fixtures in Guwahati and Delhi, England are still scheduled to take part in a planned warm-up match in Baroda on December 5-7, which effectively means that the players will have no more than five days to reach a concensus and return to the country. However, a senior BCCI official admitted that the Indian board is aware that the fate of the series now lies in the hands of the England players.

"Both the boards are in complete agreement on going ahead with the Test series," the official told Cricinfo. "But it seems the stand adopted by the England players will be crucial. At this point, I doubt whether even the ECB can confirm what their [players] position will be. The next few days will be important, but that issue is for the ECB to resolve. As far as the BCCI is concerned, there are absolutely no doubts about the Test series."