England aim to end 36 years of hurt

It's been six years since England last toured the West Indies. In today's crammed international calendar, it feels like even more. Never mind that elusive Ashes urn, England still have to bury 36 fruitless years in the Caribbean, comprising six trips of bruises, bashings and beatings. The first round of the four Tests, at Sabina Park, promises to be an intriguing opening bout, with both corners sizing up evenly, but with players capable of packing a serious punch on their day.

One local magazine billed the series as the "Clash of the Titans". A bit over the top, you might say - yet with all the hype in Kingston ahead of Thursday, you wouldn't think so. All the talk from the locals, and most of the tourists as well, is that it will be close, but that home advantage will be the key to West Indian success. "The public will demand us to win," said Brian Lara, "and you'll see a different outfit at home."

There's no doubt West Indies are a better side on their own patch, due largely to what Lara described as a "comfort zone". However, this is a side that has lost recent home series against South Africa, New Zealand and Australia and they can't hide behind that piece of propaganda if things don't go to plan early on.

One thing that is true is that there is an obvious incentive for West Indies. "England are our biggest rivals," warned Lara. "They have done a lot for our sport. They are almost like a father figure." But West Indies are not planning on showing any respect to their elders. "We still feel the disappointment of losing the Wisden Trophy in 2000, and we will fighting all the way to get it back."

One of the worries for England was whether two weeks will prove to have been sufficient preparation time, but with a testing warm-up game against a Jamaica XI, and a not-so-testing one against the Vice-Chancellor's XI, Michael Vaughan insisted they are ready and raring to go. "Only three of us have played in the Caribbean before, so we'll have to get used to things quickly, but we can't wait for Thursday now. Thirty-six years ago none of my players were born, so we've got no cobwebs of the past."

For the first time in a generation, England will not have to cope with a world-class fast bowler in West Indies' ranks, but, then again, none of England's bowlers are pushing that particular bracket yet. Simon Jones and Steve Harmison are near-certainties to play, considering their genuine pace, while Matthew Hoggard is expected to take the last fast-bowling slot ahead of James Anderson.

Hoggard was the one bowler singled out by Lara as a threat to his side. Whether he was bluffing or not is another question. However, if Hoggard does play, it will cap a dismal last six months for Anderson, who will have gone from England's Brylcreem boy to baggage boy.

The only question mark in England's batting is Mark Butcher's fitness, but after a couple of light net sessions, and a round of golf, he is likely to keep his place ahead of Paul Collingwood. West Indies' plans, however, have been disrupted at the last minute by the withdrawal of Dwayne Smith with a dislocated finger on his right hand. "It was a most unfortunate development for the young man," said Ricky Skerritt, the team manager. "But Dwayne has the right attitude towards situations like this and there is no doubt he'll be back stronger than ever." He is likely to be replaced by either Ricardo Powell or Ryan Hinds.

The Sabina Park groundsman is the same one who concocted the infamous terror track for England's last Test here, in 1997-98. That match was abandoned after only 56 minutes before any English bonces were knocked off. This time is the groundsman's turn to put his head on the block. He insisted England would have nothing to complain about, promising good pace and carry, with a little uneven bounce later in the game.

As ever, the toss will play a big part, but an interesting fact to chew over is that only nine out of the 38 Tests played here have been won by the team batting first. And since Steve Waugh's world-turning double-hundred here in 1994-95, no touring side has scored over 350. So perhaps we won't have the predicted formula for success on this tour: bat first, post a daunting total, and bowl them out on the fifth day.

West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Devon Smith, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Brian Lara (capt), 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Ricardo Powell, 7 Ridley Jacobs (wk), 8 Corey Collymore, 9 Adam Sanford, 10 Tino Best, 11 Fidel Edwards.

England (probable) 1 Michael Vaughan (capt), 2 Marcus Trescothick, 3 Mark Butcher, 4 Nasser Hussain, 5 Graham Thorpe, 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7 Chris Read (wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Simon Jones, 10 Steve Harmison, 11 Matthew Hoggard.