England expects as Caribbean tour begins

It was unanimously agreed by the British press that both England and West Indies have strong batting but inexperienced bowling, and it is how the bowlers perform that will be the key to deciding the series. "It used to be throat balls rather than boat calls that welcomed England teams to the Caribbean," wrote Derek Pringle in the Daily Telegraph, "but when Michael Vaughan's well-rested team touch down in Jamaica tonight it will be the bowlers rather than the batsmen who feel the pressure of trying to win a Test series against that loose alliance of islands known as the West Indies."

With that in mind, The Times featured Steve Harmison, who insisted he had left his perennial homesickness bag behind in the North East, and was raring to go after a six-week spell training with Newcastle United. "It has had a remarkable effect on the Durham fast bowler, who has been bedevilled by injuries," wrote Pat Gibson. "Now he can hardly wait to fly off to the Caribbean at lunchtime today."

Indeed, Harmison himself said: "It was a real eye-opener for me. I came away from that thinking that, while I will still keep doing the things I've always done, I'll be doing them with more of a sense of purpose."

Angus Fraser, writing in The Independent, agreed that Harmison, as well as Simon Jones, will be key players. "English cricket would be hard-pressed to find a more exciting sight that Stephen Harmison and Simon Jones bowling in tandem for England," Fraser decreed. "No England captain in recent times has had the luxury of utilising the threat offered by two bowlers of such pace."

Mike Selvey, in The Guardian, argued that "instead of setting off with the air of condemned men", England will go with "genuine belief" that they can win a series there for the first time in 36 years. "England's bowlers, especially the pacemen, must come of age with a rapidity that will belie their playing experience," he said. "Much of the pressure will land on the shoulders of the two fastest bowlers in the party, Simon Jones and Steve Harmison."

The Mirror, though, ran with "Flintoff's beefed up and raring to go", focussing on Andrew Flintoff's pivotal role in the team, and listing him as the umpteenth new Ian Botham. That was something which Flintoff himself was quick to shrug off: "I'm trying to play like Fred, not Beefy," he dead-batted, "and Fred's doing all right at the moment." However, Mike Walters insisted that "none has been sprinkled with the great man's stardust ... until now. With his brutal weight of stroke and aggression with the ball, Simply Fred is the nearest thing to Beefy since the legend himself."

Vaughan, meanwhile, while still confident of success, was also quick to err on the side of caution, and to point out that the batting will be just as important. "Our batting experience will be crucial," he said just before departing from Gatwick. "The players' records speak for themselves. Mark Butcher has more runs for England than anybody over the past two years, Graham Thorpe is a class act, and Nasser Hussain has a superb record over many years."

On the bowlers, he said: "We've got some young lads who are very exciting and hopefully we can ruffle the West Indies batsmen, but we have got to be realistic. Steve missed Sri Lanka through injury and Simon has only played one Test and been out of the game for a long time. Let's not hype them up too much."

He also singled out that man Brian Lara, who is sure to be the hot topic in England's team meetings. "I think Lara averages 75 against England in the Caribbean and I think he's the key to the series. He's just had a fantastic series in South Africa, but his team lost 3-0, so if we can get him early, that will create a bit of pressure.

"The West Indies are vulnerable, but you have to get on top to attack. On home soil they are a tough team to beat. We'll have to work hard, make plans and try to play in an attacking manner. Everyone tells me it's a fantastic place to play cricket and, with the crowd involved, it will probably be played at a different tempo to the games we had in Sri Lanka before Christmas."

Vaughan concluded: "We obviously have an eye on the history of the game, but none of us was even born 36 years ago. The only thing we can concentrate on is the next 2½ months and we've got a fantastic chance of doing well."