Cricket: Tourists able to settle in

W Indies 114-2 v Worcestershire

The early days of a cricket tour are all about getting acclimatised, and the West Indies are already veterans of an English summer. This was the tourists' third day of cricket, and after two dangerously close brushes with hypothermia, they spent most of yesterday watching it rain.

It would be stretching things to describe the West Indies as rusty, as it is only two weeks since they were concluding a four-match Test series in the Caribbean, but they would certainly like more time than they have got to restore whatever self-belief might have been hijacked by the Australians.

They have only five more days scheduled cricket before the Texaco Trophy series, and while Andy Roberts has a reputation for a range of expressions stretching not much beyond A to B, the West Indies' coach confessed to harbouring feelings of mild frustration when the weather restricted proceedings to only 24 overs yesterday. "We want as much cricket as we can get," he said, "mostly for our batsmen."

Roberts was particularly unhappy that his side's first Test series defeat in 15 years was largely based around his batsmen's apparent belief that they were playing in a one-day international. However, on the admittedly brief evidence yesterday, Roberts's suggestion that a bit more heads-down application would not come amiss has not yet filtered through.

Sherwin Campbell, whose Test series against Australia added up to a not very grand total of six runs, notched up eight after the first two balls yesterday, and anything remotely pitched up outside off stump was met with a fearful thrash to extra cover.

Neither was Stuart Williams inclined to treat Neal Radford and Phil Newport with any great respect, and after Williams fell to a good low catch by Philip Weston in the gully, Brian Lara maintained the tourists' near five runs per over scoring-rate with an equally carefree approach.

Lara played such a horrid slog at Paul Thomas when 16, that a more agile mid-off patroller than Newport might well have earned Thomas a notable scalp. Thomas, a 23-year-old who has played most of his cricket with Shropshire and Stratford-upon-Avon, impressed Worcestershire enough at pre-season nets to earn a one-year contract.

Campbell was still flashing expansively when his bottom-edged pull against Stuart Lampitt clattered into his stumps, and the umpire's call of no-ball chastened him sufficiently to tempt him into a defensive shot for a change. As the ball, a legal one this time, knocked back the off stump, Campbell may now decide to abandon this sudden rush of circumspection.

Even if the weather is kinder over the next couple of days, the West Indies batsmen might still not get quite the practice they are looking for. This pitch is cut close to the one reported by the umpires for the last game against Middlesex, prompting the Worcestershire captain, Tim Curtis, to wax less than lyrical about the prospect of facing Curtly Ambrose. Happily for Worcestershire, if not for Somerset, Ambrose and Courtney Walsh are being saved for the next game at Taunton.

Benson and Hedges Cup, Cricket Scoreboard, page 39