Time up for pretenders

If Steve Harmison cannot stir himself this time, in a part of the world where fast bowlers have always been kings, then the selectors may wonder if he will ever look the part © Getty Images

It is 36 years since England last won a Test series in the Caribbean. And even then, some people will tell you, they triumphed only because Garry Sobers made a generous attempt at Port-of-Spain to make the game more interesting. So what chance has the current team of ending that barren run? Rather a good one, it seems, but we said that the last time they were there, six years ago, before they came a cropper. Their wisest course is probably to say nothing and expect little.

Except ... this time they really do have a marvellous chance of winning. England may have played crab-like cricket in Sri Lanka but West Indies have just been thrashed out of sight by the South Africans despite the best efforts of their batsmen, led by Brian Lara. One of these winters their supremacy over England must end, as it did in that giddy English summer of 2000, when they were bowled out for 54 at Lord's. Alec Stewart made a century at Old Trafford in his 100th Test (and promptly dedicated it to the Queen Mother, who was celebrating a century of her own) and Andrew Caddick took four wickets in an over at Headingley.

Neither Stewart nor Caddick is in this parade. This is a tour for younger men, such as Andrew Flintoff, who will be expected to maintain the form he has shown with the bat over the past year, and bowlers like James Anderson and Stephen Harmison. If Harmison cannot stir himself this time, in a part of the world where fast bowlers have always been kings, then the selectors may wonder if he will ever look the part. The pitches may be slower than they once were but Harmison will never have a better chance to prove he is a Test class opening bowler. We cannot wait forever.

In 1967-68 England had a truly great fast bowler to call on. John Snow took 27 wickets in that series, which remained the best performance by a tourist in the West Indies until Gus Fraser equalled the feat 30 years later. Fraser will be in the press box this time but even with a notebook in his pocket and a mobile phone in his left hand he could bowl better than some of the people who have replaced him in the England attack. So this is an important tour for Anderson, who has the knack of taking important wickets. He could make a useful start by knocking over Lara's castle.

Lara is not the only gifted batsman in the home side. Even in defeat in South Africa, several players got their eye in and they will be no less hungry for runs on their own patch before spectators who will not tolerate shoddy work against a team they expect their heroes to beat. Certainly nobody wants to see West Indies reduced to second-class status. It is essential for the game's health that they turn out competitive sides, which has not always been the case in recent years. The way they fell apart in England four years ago, despite the superb bowling of Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose, was disconcerting, however much the victory meant to England.

It is reasonable to assume that Michael Vaughan will make runs, and Graham Thorpe remains a key player in the middle. But Nasser Hussain's lease will shortly expire unless he has a successful tour, and he knows it. The former captain is keen to play 100 Tests and retire later this year on his own terms, as Stewart was permitted to do last summer. To achieve that goal he will have to play a couple of innings that change the course of a match.

The problem, of course, is finding a younger man who can fill his boots. Robert Key won some good notices in Australia last winter, but where is he now? And will Ed Smith come again? What on earth happened to Owais Shah, who looked so promising at 18? Is Andrew Strauss really Test class? And what has become of Ian Bell, the Warwickshire starlet, whose velvet glove was on the knocker almost as soon as he put away his short pants? Somebody must step forward because, one year on, there will be no Hussain, probably no Thorpe and possibly no Mark Butcher.

So this West Indies tour will be the last chance to watch the side that has grown up during Duncan Fletcher's period as coach. If they lose, the side will be reconstituted. Even if they win, there will be changes. As it happens, I think they will win so long as the fast bowlers perform ably.