Dyson issues rallying call

West Indies' miserable run of form continued on Sunday as they slumped to a six-wicket defeat against England at Bristol

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West Indies coach John Dyson has challenged the tourists to knuckle down on English pitches and arrest their slump in form.

Dyson's charges were thrashed in the recent npower Tests and face another series defeat if they fail to win against England at Edgbaston tomorrow.

They trail 1-0 in the NatWest one-day series after another shoddy batting display, particularly against the seaming ball, resulted in a six-wicket loss in Bristol.

"It is a case of wanting to prove we can play some good cricket," said Dyson, whose team were dismissed for just 160 in 38.3 overs yesterday.

"Let's get on with it and do the best we can.

"We have been disappointed with the results. They have shown that under conditions which are different to the Caribbean, the guys and their techniques struggle a little bit. We can play better cricket and we would like to prove that."

Unlike their more illustrious predecessors like Sir Vivian Richards, Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes, the current West Indies players have not enjoyed annual exposure to county cricket.

Neither have they been helped in their own conditions by playing on lifeless surfaces, such as the ones presented to England earlier this year.

"The statistics say this has been a poor tour and when you have encountered conditions you are just not used to, you definitely learn a lot," said Dyson.

"Given the sorts of pitches they play on day in and day out in the Caribbean, when you move to a country that differs from that, I always feel the team could struggle.

Fidel Edwards could be recalled for the final NatWest Series match at Edgbaston after he was omitted for Sunday's match

"We have encountered wickets here which are very different to the West Indies.

"We should produce good cricket wickets, not just dead, flat nothings.

"So that in a Test match, for example, you expect for the first day, particularly the first session, if you're prepared to run in and bowl fast you are going to get a bit of help.

"Some of the wickets we saw in the West Indies gave no bowler any help at all.

"That's great if you're a batsman but not good for the all-round development of players and particularly not good when you move overseas and encounter wickets that are not like that."

Tomorrow's NatWest finale is not the West Indies’ final involvement here, given the presence of the World Twenty20, and success would improve the tourists' mood ahead of that event, which begins next week.

Captain Chris Gayle added: "We are not going back through history. What has happened has happened. But at the same time it has been disappointing so far.

"Our main focus is to square this series, get over that hurdle, then get ready for the Twenty20."

Despite the batting being their main inadequacy over the past few weeks, the tourists may opt to retain their faith in the top order but make changes to their bowling attack, with Fidel Edwards considered for a recall.

"We looked at him in the 50-over form of the game, and his last few matches, and felt for what we thought we were going to need in Bristol, the additional all-rounder might be useful," Dyson added.

"Don't get me wrong, we feel that Fidel is a terrific bowler - we just felt at Bristol the mix we liked to go in with didn't include him."