Graveney wants winning start

David Graveney © Getty Images

England embark on a new era this week determined to shrug off their winter struggles and start the npower Test series against West Indies in winning fashion.

The 12-man squad who will report to Lord’s for the first Test, starting on Thursday, have been entrusted with returning the feelgood factor to English cricket as new coach Peter Moores takes the first steps in his new job.

Since winning the Ashes in 2005, England have won only one of the last five Test series, which included a 5-0 Ashes defeat over the winter, and chairman of selectors David Graveney has emphasised the need to recapture the winning habit.

“It’s vitally important to start the season with a victory,” he stressed.

“It’s important for Peter Moores in his first match as coach, for the fans, for the players, for everybody to start well.

“It’s fair to say the winter did not go as well as we would have liked and a win at Lord’s would make all the difference to starting the summer in the right way.”

Peter Moores' England reign starts against West Indies

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England have had mitigating circumstances why they failed to build on that Ashes success, notably the absence of captain Michael Vaughan in all but two of the 18 Tests played since.

There have been other key losses such as opener Marcus Trescothick through a stress-related illness and the long-term injury to Simon Jones just as he was developing into a world-class seamer.

But England have no choice but to move on without all three for the start of this summer, with neither Trescothick nor Jones available for selection while Vaughan failed to recover from a broken finger in time to play at Lord’s.

England are hopeful Vaughan may be fit enough to lead out the team in the second Test at Headingley on May 25, and Graveney said: “We just thought that it wasn’t worth taking the risk.

“We’ve cut corners before and this time we just want to take a little more time to get Michael fully fit.

“We don’t see it as much of a problem that he hasn’t had much cricket and if he is fit he will return at Headingley, but that Test is coming around very quickly after this one.”

West Indies begin life without the talismanic Brian Lara

England can at least console themselves with facing a West Indies side without the talent of Brian Lara, who retired from cricket at the end of the World Cup.

The tourists have been depicted as a side in disarray, but Graveney warned: “It will be interesting to see how they react in the absence of Brian Lara.

“When you have an outstanding player - and Brian Lara is one of the best players the world has ever seen - there sometimes becomes a reliance on him.

“Take him out of that equation and everybody is going to roll up their sleeves and share the responsibility.

“There is not a single side out there that we can take for granted. They also had a disappointing World Cup campaign and I’m sure they will be out to start their new era well.”