England in West Indies, one-day series 2003-04

England play the waiting game

Wisden Cricinfo staff

April 26, 2004

Patience - Ian Blackwell keeps himself amused as the rains fall in Trinidad © Getty Images

Michael Vaughan is approaching the remainder of England's one-day series in the Caribbean with mixed feelings. Last week, he was bemoaning the intensity of the schedule, in which England were due to play six matches in 12 days. But now, after this weekend's double-washout in Trinidad, he and his team are itching for action.

England won a thrilling series-opener in Guyana last Sunday, but were restricted to just 16 overs this weekend as torrential rain flooded the outfield at the Queen's Park Oval in Port-of-Spain. "We now have four to play in seven days which is a lot," said Vaughan, "but we haven't played a game for a week-and-a-half. Hopefully the weather will be better in Grenada when we arrive there and we can get a full game in there."

England have not had much luck with one-day internationals of late. On their pre-Christmas tour to Sri Lanka, they were routed by ten wickets in their opening fixture, before the monsoon swept in to wipe out the second and third matches in Colombo. It is a blow to England's hopes of finding a settled side ahead of September's Champions' Trophy tournament (which, incidentally, is also likely to be rain-affected, given that it has been scheduled for the tail-end of the English summer).

"We want a proper game of cricket to test the inexperienced members of our squad," added Vaughan. "You pick a squad of 15 players and in seven games you would think that every member of that squad would play a part and get an opportunity." Instead, England have been left twiddling their thumbs in the dressing-room, and the opportunity for valuable experience is ebbing away. Of the 15 players, six have yet to play 20 one-day internationals - it is a tally that pales in comparison with most international sides.

"This is disappointing for everybody," said Vaughan. "Trinidad was going to be most exciting of the venues, but the rain has spoilt it for everyone. No-one is more disappointed than the players - we want to play games of cricket, but the weather is just not allowing us to."

And there is the prospect of further interruptions for the remainder of the series. The teams reconvene in Grenada on Wednesday, when more showers are forecast, before moving on to St Lucia for back-to-back games at the weekend, followed by the finale in Barbados on May 5. What price a 1-0 series victory to England?

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Players/Umpires

Michael Vaughan

Series/Tournaments

England tour of West Indies

Teams

England

West Indies

Grounds

Queen's Park Oval