We're not a great team - Sarwan

Ramnaresh Sarwan admits his team contains no superstars after Brian Lara's retirement

West Indies’ new captain Ramnaresh Sarwan is planning a return to basics with his young charges as they go in search of post-Lara success against England this summer.

Sarwan acknowledges that the Windies, once the powerhouses of world cricket, have arrived in this country bereft of superstars following the retirement last month of his predecessor Brian Lara.

The middle-order batsman feels the weight of responsibility to try to establish a new era as his team - with the handicap of just one badly rain-affected tour match in Taunton as preparation - approach the start of their four-Test series at Lord’s.

Sarwan, however, has also identified an opportunity for him and his young tourists to make a name for themselves, and make West Indies proud again.

“We’re not a great team - we don’t have any great superstars,” the 26-year-old conceded. “It’s just a matter of us playing basic cricket and getting things right.”

To do so, Sarwan will be instructing his team to try to emulate unlikely role models - aspiring not to the heights reached by West Indies greats of the past, but the New Zealanders of the present.

The Guyanese revealed his admiration for the methods of the Kiwis, often praised under the captaincy of Stephen Fleming for amounting to more than the sum of their parts.

“The key to the series is that we execute our plan - that is something we’ll be looking at very hard,” he prescribed.

The West Indies players warm up ahead of the opening Test

“If you look at New Zealand, they are a team who do that very well. That’s what we’re going to be trying to achieve.

“It is important we believe in each other; it’s most important we support each other and accept we must play to our limitations.”

That way, Sarwan hopes, his band of developing players may be able to prove they can progress without being bailed out by master batsman Lara.

“Obviously, we will miss Brian, but it presents a great opportunity for everyone to put their hands up,” Sarwan reasons.

“It is a great responsibility as well, and this is a new era to take West Indies cricket forward. We hope we can grab this great opportunity with both hands.”

The omens are not encouraging, however, albeit in a series against hosts who have failed in the last two years to live up to the billing they held as 2005 Ashes winners - most notably in last winter’s 5-0 defeat by Australia and then an unsuccessful World Cup.

Sarwan is keen to emulate Stephen Fleming's Black Caps

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West Indies fared even worse when the world arrived in the Caribbean this spring - and could have done without a turnaround since has given Sarwan no opportunity to assess his bowling attack in alien conditions.

Asked about the lack of preparation time available, he said: “I’ve been playing international cricket for eight years and it is the first time I’ve experienced something like this.

“We knew what could happen with just one game for preparation, and it did with the rain at Taunton.”

Even so, Sarwan expects West Indies to be competitive from the outset.

“We always go into a series as underdogs because of how we’ve been playing over the past couple of years,” he said.

“But we are determined to stay mentally strong. That is the most important thing going into this Test match.

“We must encourage each other to stay focused on what we have to do - and believe in our ability.”