Pessimism surrounds West Indies test prospects

LONDON, May 17 (Reuters) As votes of confidence go, Clive Lloyd's comments before the four-test series between England and West Indies starting on Thursday were not even lukewarm.

''If they (West Indies) can draw or get close to doing well in one of the test matches, that's what we'd be looking for,'' he said.

Lloyd, the man who combined the Caribbean regions into the ruthlessly single-minded unit who dominated test cricket for 15 years, is now chairman of the West Indies Cricket Board's cricket committee.

He has remained close to the game in a variety of positions and his remarks shortly after the team arrived last week show the staggering gulf between the expectations aroused by his 1980s side and the pessimism surrounding the current team led by Ramnaresh Sarwan.

''We are taking too long to get back to the level we would all like,'' Lloyd continued. ''There are some very tough decisions to be taken. These guys have a comfort zone and they have to get out of that to reach the heights of other countries.'' Sarwan was his team's leading run scorer at the World Cup this year and he has shown courage and composure in equal measure in eight years of test cricket.

But he has finished on the winning side only 14 times in 65 tests and the England team, thrashed 5-0 by Australia in the off-season, already fancy replicating their 2004 whitewash.

''If we play the right cricket this time another whitewash is feasible,'' England batsman Ian Bell wrote in a newspaper column.

''It's just important over the next few days at Lord's that we set the tone for the summer in everything we do.'' DERISORY PREPARATION Because of the scheduling of the World Cup, which did not finish until April 28 in Barbados, West Indies have had only one warm-up match before the first test, a rain-ruined affair against Somerset.

Even Australia would struggle to perform at their best after such a derisory preparation.

''I've been playing international cricket for eight years and it's the first time I've ever experienced something like this,'' Sarwan told a news conference yesterday.

West Indies, despite the huge gap left by the retirement of Brian Lara, still have talented cricketers with athleticism and eye-catching skills.

One of the more intriguing members of the side is Runako Morton who scored a carefree century before retiring hurt against Somerset.

Morton, 28, is now a reformed character after a chequered early career during which he was expelled from the West Indies academy and involved in a stabbing incident.

''He's very patient in terms of the way he plays, he's a very confident guy as well,'' Sarwan said. ''He's someone who looks forward to challenges and he supports everyone in the team, he tries to help everyone.'' Despite the enterprise of batsmen such as Morton and a lively bunch of pace bowlers West Indies' overseas record is still worse than any of the other major test-playing nations and there is no immediate end in sight.

''There's a lot of things that contribute to that, problems with our first class cricket back home in the Caribbean and we have got quite a few young players in the team,'' Sarwan said.

''When you play international cricket one of the key things is that you need to be mentally strong and I think at 18 and 19 we don't have that sort of players who are that strong mentally because we are playing probably five first class games a year in contrast with England, Australia and South Africa.

''We need to work on our first class cricket back home and I think that's going to develop our cricket.'' REUTERS BJR PM1347