Marcus Trescothick was quoted in the Mail on Sunday as saying that he wouldn't fancy being in India at the moment, given the volatile situation. "I wouldn't want to be going to India next week and I have every support for what the Kiwis have done by pulling out of their trip to Pakistan," were his exact words. England's captain-in-waiting backed up this statement with his impressions of what he saw at the Khyber Pass and in the North-West Frontier Province on the tour of Pakistan last winter. Perhaps he doesn't know that the Khyber Pass is as far from most of the Indian venues (barring Mohali) as London was from the former Iron Curtain. An illogical statement to say the very least, similar to wandering around King's Cross and then deciding that the whole of London is unsafe.

It is inevitable that the imminent outbreak of war in Afghanistan will weigh heavily on the players' minds. But it is shockingly naïve to imagine that Indian cities are any more dangerous than the United Kingdom. After the World Trade Centre, a child could tell you that nowhere is safe any more. If anything, with British troops likely to participate in attacks on Afghanistan, the chances of reprisals are much higher on UK soil.

You suspect that the real reasons lie elsewhere - in the chronic whingeing mentality and pre-conceived biases that English cricketers carry on travels to the subcontinent. As David Hopps wrote in the Guardian, you suspect that "at least half the party would happily abandon the tour on the pretext of a minor traffic accident in Delhi". After all, this is the country of the Delhi Belly, the dubious prawns and God-knows-what other perils.

Even before the Indian tour itinerary was finalised, there were outrageous protests about the choice of Mohali as a venue on the grounds that there was no proper accommodation for the Barmy Army. For the record, Mohali has some of the best facilities of any Test centre in Asia. Is this a Test series or a R-and-R trip? Did we hear anyone complaining when India were made to play World Cup matches at Bristol, Hove and Taunton, tiny grounds that couldn't accommodate even half the Indian support?

Last winter, Nasser Hussain and Duncan Fletcher demanded a change in approach from their players: moan less and adjust more, they were told, and treat each tour as a learning experience, both for cricket and culturally. That philosophy is especially pertinent on tours of the subcontinent, where the clash of cultures can be trying.

You can't help feeling that the average English cricketer treats an Indian tour as some kind of punishment, an ordeal to be endured rather than an experience to cherish. Would Darren Gough have dreamt of pulling out of an Ashes tour this winter?

In many ways, tours of India are the ultimate test for an international cricketer. Admittedly, the conditions are difficult; the heat and humidity can be sapping even for the locals. Then there is India's daunting record at home. The last time England played here, they were hammered 3-0. It could be just as bad this time.

Trescothick also told the Mail on Sunday, "A month ago we probably would not have gone to Zimbabwe, but now things have calmed down a little and the authorities have guaranteed our safety." Two mistakes there. First, the assumption that Zimbabwe is a safer destination. With Robert Mugabe and his supporters still in power, Zimbabwe certainly isn't the safest place to show off your British passport. Secondly, have the Indian authorities said that they can't guarantee the safety of the English team? If they haven't, isn't Trescothick jumping the gun?

Some British newspapers have expressed concern about the large Muslim population in India. Holy smoke, isn't Bradford a Muslim town? Is all of Ireland unsafe just because it happens to be home to some members of the IRA? Or are these just feeble excuses to avoid a tour that few Englishmen seem to be looking forward to?

Dileep Premachandran is assistant editor of Wisden.com India.

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