Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag during nets in Chennai on Tuesday

Now that England’s cricketers are back in India, Andrew Flintoff wants them to concentrate on the cricket, though that might be difficult given the security plans to have armed soldiers five yards apart around the boundary.

“The environment is going to be completely different when you talk about commandos and hotels being locked down, but those are the measures they feel we need to take,” said Flintoff after England arrived in Chennai.

“That is going to be a challenge for the lads. A few of us experienced something similar here in 2002 when we had guards everywhere, but hopefully that will wear off pretty quickly.”

There are bound to be some tentative moves made by all concerned over the next few days, but Flintoff, as fierce a competitor as there is with bat or ball in hand, reckons that normal service will be resumed once the Test match starts on Thursday.

“Once you’re out in the middle bowling at Sachin Tendulkar or trying to hit Harbhajan Singh around, I don’t think you’ll be worrying about who might be around off the ground,” he said. “I think that will happen more when you’re at the hotel or mooching around.”

It was weighing any distractions against a reduction in his competitive edge that caused Flintoff to question the wisdom of resuming the tour. Obviously personal safety and the worry his family might have to cope with were more powerful considerations, but having to possibly compromise his cricket also irked him.

“That was one of the things I had to get right in my mind as well,” said Flintoff. “The one thing about me is that I have to be able to try my best when I get on a cricket field. So I had to be sure I could give my all.”

Flintoff was one of those who took their time over making his decision after the team’s two-hour meeting in Abu Dhabi on Sunday night.

“I took time to ring family and think it over myself,” he admitted. “It was just a case of digesting it and getting it straight in my mind. We needed to know how the tour was going to take place and, once that was presented to us, we could then decide.

“There was safety to consider and also whether it was right to be playing in India so soon after Mumbai. I can’t vouch for other players but for me the Indian Premier League didn’t come into it at all. Safety is far bigger than the IPL.”

England’s players certainly should not want for inspiration, judging from the throngs of people who greeted them at the airport on Monday.

“I don’t think it can get any bigger,” admitted Flintoff. “They always seem happy to see us here anyway. Possibly we can achieve something that is bigger than cricket but we are here to win a Test series. ”

With the burden of expectation removed, given the lack of preparation and mental baggage the players have hauled around over the last 10 days, some believe the situation could encourage England’s cricketers to play more freely. But Flintoff has been around long enough to know that one man’s theory can quickly become another’s flight of fantasy.

“Hopefully we will be inspired,” he said. “The team has made the decision to go and play cricket in India and we want to give a good account of ourselves. ”