“A collective decision” was how Kevin Pietersen described the England team’s decision to fly to Abu Dhabi yesterday. And while no player, he insisted, would have his arm twisted to return to India, the clear impression given was that the England team would decide, after discussing the final security report on Sunday evening, to travel onwards together, or return home together. And since no man’s life should be considered more important than another’s, this, surely, is a step in the right direction.

This development represents something of a triumph for Pietersen. Little has been heard publicly from the England captain since the atrocities in Mumbai, but that is not to say that he has not been busy. Throughout the week he has spoken at length to all the players — some needed more airtime than others — and while he reiterated that he has not strong-armed anybody into travelling, it is known that he has been more forceful than his initial laissez-faire attitude suggested.

The departure of the whole squad for Abu Dhabi yesterday is not to say that the India Tests, the first of which is due to begin on Thursday in Madras (Chennai), will definitely go ahead. The Times has learnt that officials from the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) and the players’ representatives who have seen the interim report upon which the ECB directors made their recommendations on Sunday last still have serious concerns as to its contents. According to the report, there was insufficient time to prepare a thorough assessment and the PCA remains worried that security procedures have been short-circuited because of time constraints and political and financial concerns. The decision to return to India now depends on the final security report that will be submitted to the players on Sunday.

Abu Dhabi, then, as Pietersen admitted yesterday, is an exercise in buying time, while enabling England to get some much-needed outdoor practice. But it will surely be more difficult for Andrew Flintoff and Stephen Harmison to pull out now that they are out of earshot of family and advisers, who cannot be relied upon to give dispassionate advice. Getting the team to Abu Dhabi, therefore, is a shrewd piece of manoeuvring by the ECB.

Speaking in the ballroom of the Renaissance Hotel, Heathrow, two hours before departure, Pietersen suggested that although safety and security were the principal considerations for the group, the wider interests of the game and the need to show solidarity with the Indian people were at the forefront of the players’ minds. “It’s fantastic that the players want to go back to India,” he said. “It is important that we stand shoulder to shoulder with the Indian people in their time of need. I’m very confident that we’ll have a full squad of 15 players to choose from for the first Test match next week.

“Everyone has become a lot more open-minded over the last few days. They’ve had a chance to spend some time with their families. And they now realise that it is going to be a huge thing to go back to India and do what we love doing. We want to make a positive stance and help people out.”

Referring to those such as Flintoff and Harmison who have serious misgivings about returning, Pietersen said: “I didn’t have to persuade anybody. I respect everyone’s viewpoints and their individual concerns. They are their own men and are able to make their own life decisions. But it is fantastic that they have decided to come, because they are two big players and we certainly want them in our team. I feel very proud to be captain of such a great bunch of guys who want to play for their country and want to try to make amends for what happened recently in the one-day series.”

Neither Pietersen nor Hugh Morris, the managing director of England cricket, would confirm what would happen if the security advice was positive but one player still had concerns. Morris said that he hoped that if the security advisers, the ECB and the PCA were all of one mind, there would be no dissenters. For those of a nervous disposition, the news that India’s international airports had been put upon high alert yesterday because of the threat of terrorist attacks would have come as little comfort. Morris indicated that all these developments would form part of the security audit that will be presented to the players on Sunday evening in Abu Dhabi and that will then end this “will they, won’t they” saga once and for all.