LET me add my congratulations to the England cricket team for making the brave decision to push ahead with the two-Test tour of India.

In the wake of the Mumbai atrocities, it would have been easy to stay at home and plan for Christmas.

But the players have decided to play on and that will be boost to the people of India.

I'm not fool enough to ignore the fact that the decision will play well with the mega-rich Indian Premier League bods who are so keen to have England players in the competition.

But I think you have you look beyond the obvious in this case.

Sport is the one thing that can unite and, in a country where cricket is such a massive draw, the Test matches could at least provide some sparkle of light in these dark times.

The result is largely irrelevant in my eyes, the fact that the games are played and the right message is sent out to those who seek to do harm is the only thing that matters.