Windies handed Chanderpaul boost

Jonathan Trott could make way for Ian Bell after two failures in the Twenty20 © Getty Images

After the mayhem of two Twenty20 matches, the 50-over format is going to feel sedate for England and West Indies when they open the Natwest Series at Lord's on Sunday. Honours were even after the double-header at The Oval and another keenly contested series is on the cards in the longer one-day game as both sides seek a new direction.

The two teams have been boosted by fitness news with Ian Bell recovering well from his groin strain and, if he doesn't feel any reaction in the morning, is expected to replace Warwickshire team-mate Jonathan Trott who made 9 and 2 in the Twenty20. Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Devon Smith - who both missed Friday's second Twenty20 - have been passed fit for West Indies. They are expected to come in for Lendl Simmons and Austin Richards who struggled at The Oval.

Chanderpaul's return is vital for West Indies after being their stand-out player throughout the tour. He showed his versatility by hitting 41 off 26 balls in the first Twenty20 after his batting feats during the Test series, which included going 1000 minutes without being dismissed.

David Moore, West Indies' coach, wants the younger members of the squad to follow Chanderpaul's lead. "He has proved to everyone that he can bat for long periods in the Test matches and he has also come out in the first Twenty20 game and did what we know he can do and take an attack apart.

"He must be one of the most versatile cricketers in the world to be able to do that. Our players need to look at how he prepares. If I was a young cricketer, I'd be looking at how Chanderpaul prepares as a batter and take a leaf out of his book. I know how he prepares and that's the way you need to as a cricketer."

England's coach, Peter Moores, says the back-to-back Twenty20 games were a valuable experience for the newly-formed squad. The aim is to identify players who will be part of the next World Cup in 2011, but Moores is aware that four years is a long time and there will be other players pushing their claims.

"We have also got to develop a winning habit, we've got to find ways of winning and we've got to develop players that are in there," said Moores. "We all know that just putting teams of youngsters out doesn't really work because it takes time and they learn off other players.

"If we think it's right to play somebody who may not get through to that World Cup then we'll play them because they will often pass on great experiences and help the other people they are playing alongside."

Given the recent weather it's no surprise that showers are forecast for London on Sunday, but the worst of them are expected to move through overnight. After the fireworks over the last couple of days it would be a shame if the weather put a dampener on what promises to be another exciting contest.

England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook, 2 Matt Prior (wk), 3 Ian Bell, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Paul Collingwood (capt), 6 Owais Shah, 7 Dimitri Mascarenhas, 8 Michael Yardy, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Ryan Sidebottom, 11 James Anderson

West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Devon Smith, 3 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 4 Marlon Samuels 5 Runako Morton, 6 Dwayne Smith, 7 Dwayne Bravo, 8 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 9 Darren Sammy, 10 Ravi Rampaul, 11 Daren Powell.