WI, England lock horns again

CASTRIES: England and the West Indies were practising yesterday in high spirits ahead of this weekend’s one-day cricket matches in St Lucia, where sunny skies looked likely to lift the  rain-spoiled series. England lead the seven-match Cable and Wireless series 1-0, after a narrow two-wicket win during the rain-affected opener in Guyana two weeks ago. Heavy rain also affected the following three internationals, with the second in Trinidad limited to 16 overs and both the third in Trinidad and fourth in Grenada canceled without a ball bowled. 

“It’s great to arrive in a land and see a little bit of sun,” England captain Michael Vaughan said, as his team practised Friday ahead of the fifth and sixth matches at St Lucia’s Beausejour Stadium, one of the region’s most modern cricket grounds. “We’re going flat out to win,” he said. “There will be no excuses on our part that we haven’t played much cricket.” West Indies captain Brian Lara also looked forward to matches today and tomorrow as a chance for his team to redeem themselves following their 3-0 loss in the Test series against England. “We still have an opportunity to win the series. What has been very evident while the rain has been falling is that we’ve been very upbeat,” said Lara, who claimed the world record for highest Test score with 400 not out during the last Test in Antigua.

“A West Indies victory is of utmost importance,” said Lara, who turns 35 tomorrow. Lara also hinted at a change in his team’s lineup, possibly to give left-armer Ian Bradshaw his debut. “There might be a possibility of introducing an element of surprise, seeing if we could get somebody new that they haven’t seen already,” Lara said. All-rounder Bradshaw is the only man in the 14-member West Indies squad that England has not yet faced. The Barbados player also sat on the sidelines during the West Indies’ five One-Day  Internationals in South Africa in February. England were likely to make few changes to their team, with the final fast bowling slot going to either James Anderson and James Kirtley while spinners Ashley Giles and Gareth Batty and  batsman Anthony McGrath were likely to be left on the bench.

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