Lara hopes to put NatWest disappointment behind him

As West Indies gear up to take on England in the four-Test series, their captain Brian Lara said his side had already put their NatWest Series final defeat behind them, and would take some positives into the Tests. West Indies did manage to reach the final of the three-way NatWest Series - eliminating England along the way - but were soundly beaten at Lord's on Saturday.

But Lara is convinced that the way forward is to forget the immediate past - which, in West Indies' case, does not make for good reading anyway. In seven matches in the series, they were beaten three times, won two games against England, and had two washed out.

An AFP report quoted Lara as saying, "We have got to separate this from the rest of the tour. Now the one-day series is over, and there are a lot of positives we can take into the next couple of months, like the fact we were in the final and England, the host country, were not." However, the last time England and West Indies played a Test series, England won three Tests and drew the fourth earlier this year.

"Also, we have had a few weeks of playing cricket in English conditions, whereas normally you arrive two weeks ahead of the first Test," said Lara. "The guys have become accustomed to the weather, and we are in a better position for an upcoming Test series than if we had just arrived. Hopefully in the warm-up games batters can start thinking of long innings and bowlers getting the ball in the right areas and being more hostile."

West Indies have two three-day games - against MCC at Arundel and Sri Lanka A at Shenley - before the first Test starts at Lord's on July 22.