test2wa

International Cricket

Sports psychologist Brett Morrissey feels England would be able to concentrate in India despite the recent Mumbai attacks.

By Dinesh Chopra

Morrissey, who has worked with both the Indian and England teams said: "The players will be able to focus in spite of all the security concerns. When they step on the field, it would be a natural environment. The cricket stadium will take them away from all the tension and it would be like being at work."

Morrissey said the fact that the England players knew about the Taj (one of the Mumbai hotels attacked by gun-wielding terrorists) might have personalised the fear factor.

"They had heard about the Taj, knew about it. The Middlesex team was supposed to put up there, so the players identified with the venue."

In fact, the English team had left their cricket kits and team suits in the hotel days before the attack on November 26.

The psychologist believes it served England well going back home after the attacks.

"That move helped them look at things in perspective. Maybe the whole thing had just been blown out of perspective."

"Once the guys went back home, they would have realised that it was not so bad at the end of the day."

"It is not like since you have crashed once, you stop flying for 364 days and dismiss the safe zones, just because you have had a crash."

However, Morrissey also said that it was a dangerous move for the England players to have gone back home.

"They would have been with their families and leaving them back at the wake of such a thing would have been difficult."

India and England will clash for their first Test on December 11. The men will be back at work.