Lucrative India, 'dangerous' Pakistan

Sixteen bomb blasts rocked Ahmedabad, which hosts England's first Test in India on their winter tour, but England's players - reluctant to jeopardise potential Indian Premier League contracts - may only push for a change of venue, says Derek Pringle in the Daily Telegraph.

Like insurance companies, cricket players seem to have a sliding scale when it comes to assessing risk. The more on offer, the more emboldened they become.

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I'm with them on the ICC Champions Trophy, which although well-intentioned when it began back in 1998, serves little purpose except to clog the itinerary with more 50-over cricket.

But I'm against them on Pakistan, which is one of the more beautiful and fascinating countries to tour, providing you can escape the featureless Punjab triangle between Multan, Faisalabad and Lahore.