A shot in the arm for sporting diplomacy

Well done, the England cricket team. It's taken them an age, and several fathoms of soul-searching, if the reticence of one or two senior players is anything to go by, but they have finally - collectively - made the correct decision to resume their Test tour of India.

On Monday the players are due to proceed in two batches for Chennai, and in so doing they will set a precedent that deserves to resonate around the world. It is easy for sport's importance to be taken massively out of context, and moments such as last month's Mumbai massacre serve as grisly reality checks. Nevertheless, there was only one event that ought to have been capturing the headlines in India this winter. It is the one that, gloriously, has refused to be derailed by terror, and will resume at the rescheduled venue of the MA Chidambaram Stadium on December 11.

The raison d'etre for the resumption may never become entirely clear - India's immense clout in the global game doubtless played a part every bit as significant as those of Hugh Morris and Kevin Pietersen - but ultimately this is no time for questioning the small print of a bold decision. On this occasion the bilateral back-scratching that has doubtless gone on between the BCCI and the ECB could well serve a much wider purpose.

"The show must go on," is the message that is coming out loud and clear, a message that Pakistan, in particular, will be listening to with great interest. With security issues cutting swathes out of their calendar, they have not played a Test match since December 2007, and that period in the wilderness will be extended indefinitely if their forthcoming home series against India fails to take place, thanks to the rising tide of tension between the two countries. By agreeing to return in spite of terror, England have given a chance for sporting diplomacy to be extended throughout the region.

It promises to be an extraordinary couple of weeks. England will travel and train amid unprecedented levels of security, and for a squad that has not played competitively with a red ball since August, it's hard to envisage how they will be able to free their minds from the mayhem and focus on the unique rigours of five-day cricket. And yet, it will be impossible for England to lose. Their simple presence in India will be a victory.

England have made a habit of saving their best performances in India for adverse situations. In 1984-85, in uncannily similar circumstances, they decamped to Sri Lanka in the crazy weeks that followed the assassination of Indira Gandhi, but eventually returned to triumph 2-1 in the Test series that followed. In 2001-02, following the September 11 attacks in New York, they travelled to India with a weakened squad, but - under the tenacious guidance of Nasser Hussain - came close to squaring a series that was effectively lost in a single loose session in the first Test

And on their last visit in 2005-06, the chaos was in England's own ranks rather than the political situation, with injury and illness robbing them of the services of Michael Vaughan, Marcus Trescothick and Simon Jones in a crazy 48 hours ahead of the first Test. Into the fray strode a 21-year-old rookie, whisked in from the other side of the world at the very last minute. Alastair Cook shrugged off his jet lag to score a century and a fifty on debut in Nagpur. He has already shown what is possible when expectation takes a back seat.

It won't be an easy fortnight for India's cricketers either. At least by flying home for the interim (a decision of instinctive compassion for which Morris deserves huge credit) England have been spared the 24/7 coverage on India's myriad news channels. Their players doubtless felt a connection with the events through their stays at the Taj, but for a man like Sachin Tendulkar, Mumbai born and bred, there's no question how deeply such scenes would have affected him.

Still, at least Tendulkar will now have the chance to produce the type of tribute that he does best. By agreeing to resume the series, England have given India a chance to move on from the horrors of Mumbai in the manner that best befits the nation.