Rain threatens to ruin series

ST GEORGE’S: The one-day cricket series between West Indies and England is in danger of descending into farce with the fourth match, scheduled for Grenada today, under threat because of rain. With the outfield sodden at Queen’s Park after heavy rainfall and last weekend’s back-to-back matches in Trinidad already washed out, organisers are fearful of a third abandonment in four games. West Indies captain Brian Lara was not optimistic that any play would be possible after inspecting the pitch yesterday morning. “It is very, very poor here,” Lara told reporters. “It’s going to be tough to see any cricket, especially as more rain is forecast.”

England lead the seven-match series 1-0 after their two-wicket victory in the first match in Guyana, which was reduced to 30 overs per side by rain. Only 16 overs were possible in the second match, while the third was a complete washout. Rain is also forecast for this weekend’s fifth and sixth matches, scheduled to be played back-to-back in St Lucia. “It’s very frustrating,” Lara said. “England are ahead, and we want to get out there. We want to play.” Lara said the West Indies players had been working hard to maintain their fitness between the rain showers. “Everyone told us we were unfit, so we’ve been working hard in the gym. We’re prepared to play, we just have to try to be ready and focused.” Lara was also sympathetic to the plight of many fans who bought tickets in Trinidad and have now arrived in Grenada to find a sodden pitch. “I think over the two days in Trinidad we had around 40,000 people there — but only partying, not watching cricket,” he said.

“Grenada has had international cricket for five years now and many of the people wanted to see England for the first time, so hopefully we will be able to get some play.” England opener Marcus Trescothick said it had been hard for all the players to keep their concentration. “It’s just very boring, sitting around and trying to find things to do,” he said. “We’ve been playing head tennis, anything really and just trying to keep focused. But it’s been hard work recently.” West Indies named an unchanged 14-man squad from the one picked for the first match in Trinidad, and England will again choose from their 15-man party.

West Indies (from): Brian Lara (captain), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ricardo Powell, Dwayne Smith, Ryan Hinds, Sylvester Joseph, Dwayne Bravo, Ridley Jacobs, Ian Bradshaw, Ravi Rampaul, Corey Collymore, Mervyn Dillon.
England (from): Michael Vaughan (captain), James Anderson, Gareth Batty, Ian Blackwell, Rikki Clarke, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Darren Gough, Steve Harmison, James Kirtley, Anthony McGrath, Chris Read, Andrew Strauss, Marcus Trescothick.