England's one-day progress halted

The frustration of everyone associated with this one-day series is clear to see. The players are prowling like caged animals, desperately seeking outlets for their energies - whether it be head-tennis, basketball, or the ubiquitous PlayStations - the few hundred travelling supporters have shopped and drunk themselves to a standstill, and the journalists have exhausted all alternatives for "rain" and "wet" in their thesauruses.

From soggy Grenada, where Wednesday's one-dayer never looked like getting off the ground, the circus splashed on to an equally sodden St Lucia, where it has been raining solidly for a week, and where the forecast is for more of the same. Today (Friday) was sunny, though, so the players might yet make it onto the field at last for at least part of this weekend's scheduled double-header.

For England, it has been a winter of one-day roadblocks. The three matches in Bangladesh were all won easily, two of the three games in Sri Lanka were washed out, and now this. One of the this morning's newspapers pointed out that since last July, England have contested only 376 of the possible 1000 one-day overs they should have played. Some players have hardly needed to unpack - Ian Blackwell has batted twice and bowled six overs, while Anthony McGrath hasn't even taken to the field.

"We haven't been able to move on in nine months," admitted a glum Duncan Fletcher, England's coach. "It's severely hindered our progress. Imagine how frustrating it must be for the likes of Anthony McGrath, who has put in all that work and effort and not played at all. Here in the West Indies we wanted to have a look at everyone in the squad, and there were seven games to do that. We need to get guys with games under their belts, to see how they shape up in proper 50-over matches that run their full length."

Fletcher admitted that the endless rain has led to mental issues as well as physical ones. "In addition to the simple business of playing and practising, the travelling, touring, packing, unpacking, early-morning flights, and everything else makes people mentally stale and tired. And that can be when they pick up stupid little injuries because they are not alert. At the moment we are just trying to keep people occupied, trying not to let their minds wander. But for the situation as it stands, there is no saving grace at all. None."

But Fletcher dismissed suggestions that he was considering sending fringe players home to allow them to get some practice in. "It's important that they play some cricket, but each person who is not playing is cover for someone," he said. "If we get an injury or a stomach bug, which can happen on a tour, we will need someone to replace them. We can't start sending people home. We're on tour and we just have to put up with what is going on here."

If the two matches this weekend do fall foul of the weather, then that leaves the final match in Barbados as the last chance for some meaningful action. It almost goes without saying that it's been raining in Bridgetown for almost a week, although better weather is expected for a few days ... before the rain returns.

The only consolation for the players as they go stir-crazy is that it's almost as bad back home. There was no play in any of yesterday's County Championship matches, and the situation is much the same today. Perhaps PlayStation should be England's new sponsor.