West Indies situation 'sad' - Sarwan

Ramnaresh Sarwan described West Indies' mammoth loss at Headingley as "really sad" and said the players needed to be in a better frame of mind to challenge England at Old Trafford next week. However, he was confident the squad had enough fight in them to put up a decent contest.

"It [Headingley] was really sad," Sarwan told The Nation. "We're making history for the wrong reasons. It was disappointing to know that I couldn't go out there and help the guys. Having said that, I think they've got a lot of fight in them. I'm sure they're going to give a better performance in the third Test match."

The team's loss by an innings and 283 runs was their heaviest defeat in Tests and was further soured by the series-ending injury to Sarwan's AC joint. Their three-day tour match against MCC at Durham would be vital if they were to improve at Old Trafford, Sarwan said.

"Going into the next Test match, they need to be in some sort of form and a better frame of mind," he said. "When I left everyone was pretty upbeat. They were disappointed that we lost. They had a hard training session the following day. They were in the indoor nets and did a bit of training outdoors as well."

Sarwan said he was in pain as he flew home to Guyana to begin his rehabilitation program. "It's hurting. When I was coming on the flight, I was getting some pain," he said after touching down at Barbados. "When I got off here, there was some more pain."