Ideal chance for Strauss and England

England's domination of West Indies for the last nine years is an indication of how chronic cricket's decline has been in the Caribbean. England have been ruthless after finding themselves at the receiving end of much hardship from West Indian teams for almost 20 years, and have favoured playing them more than anyone else since winning the Wisden Trophy for the first time in over 30 years in 2000. They've won 13 Tests against West Indies since then - including three out of four in the Caribbean - and lost just once. And despite the recent turmoil in English cricket, Andrew Strauss has a good chance of putting the off-field drama out of the spotlight and further extending England's dominance.

Strauss has been in good form since the start of 2008, but has a modest record against West Indies: he had a forgettable home series against them in 2007 where he averaged 24. However, the rest of the top six have performed impressively and will bank on their past record to improve their recent run. Alastair Cook, Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood all averaged under 40 since last year, but against West Indies, they've been formidable. Andrew Flintoff missed the home series in 2007, but in nine Tests before then, he averaged 51.25. (Click here for the batting records of England's batsmen in the last one year.)

A feature of England's success has been their ability to seize the advantage in the first innings. In 17 Tests since 2000, England have gained the first-innings lead on 13 occasions - the average lead has been 157.46 runs, and they've won 11 of these Tests. Partnerships have been the key: England's top six wickets have averaged 44.75 per stand since 2000, while West Indies have managed 33.98 - a significant difference of close to 12 runs for each wicket. The fourth wicket has been the most productive for England, averaging 63.96 in 28 innings, but for West Indies, no stand has yielded an average of more than 50 - 43.90 for the fifth wicket is the highest.

However, in two of England's three wins in the 2004 series in the West Indies, the home team ran them close in the first innings, only to capitulate in the second and surrender the Test. England managed a lead of 28 in the first Test in Kingston, but Steve Harmison took a career-best 7 for 12 in the second innings to bowl out West Indies for 47. The Bridgetown Test was more closely fought with the visitors gaining a slender lead of just 2 runs, but their fast bowlers skittled out West Indies for 94 in the second innings to win by eight wickets.

The England bowlers have played a pivotal role in the victories - five of England's ten Test wins since 2004 have been inside four days. Harmison has been their most successful bowler, with 56 wickets at 24.85, but he had a poor 2008, averaging 57.33. Despite the slide, his past record may win him a place in the eleven after being dropped for the second Test in Mohali against India. Flintoff, recovering from a side strain, missed the 2007 series, but has proved a handful in nine Tests against West Indies, taking 26 wickets at 24.69. Monty Panesar and Ryan Sidebottom featured prominently in England's wins in Manchester and Durham in 2007; their impressive display against the hosts, and a satisfying 2008, augurs well for their team's bowling attack. (Click here for England's bowling records since 2008.)

The statistics of West Indian batsmen show the extent to which their team has struggled against England. Only Shivnarine Chanderpaul stands out as a noteworthy performer, as none of the others average over 35. West Indies are without allrounder Dwayne Bravo for the Test series, and have an inexperienced team which will also rely heavily on the services of Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle. The two, however, have struggled to rally around Chanderpaul - who is in terrific form, averaging over 100 since last year - in previous encounters against England, but with a productive 2008 behind them, they have the confidence to change that trend this series. (Click here for West Indies' batting records since 2008.)

The performance of Chanderpaul, Sarwan and Gayle will be critical to the home team's fortunes in this series. England's main strike bowler against the hosts, Harmison, has gone for a plenty against Chanderpaul, conceding 232 runs and dismissing him just once. He's had more success against Gayle, getting him out seven times, but at a price - 235 runs at a rate of 5.88 an over. Sarwan has struggled against Harmison - dismissed six times at an average of 16.83. Flintoff has bowled well to Chanderpaul and Sarwan, but Gayle has dominated him, scoring 76 off 78 balls. James Anderson, who had an impressive 2008, has struggled against the three, conceding 120 runs and taking one wicket. Panesar and Sidebottom, while doing well against the rest, have been handled with ease by this trio.

West Indies have an inexperienced bowling attack, but the ones who have played against England have struggled. Fidel Edwards averages 43.68 for his 22 wickets, and Darren Powell, 48.55 for his nine. Jerome Taylor has taken three wickets in four Tests against England at 90 apiece, but was West Indies' second-highest wicket-taker in 2008 with 27 at 32.92. (Click here for West Indies' bowling records in 2008, and here for their top individual performers against England since 2000.)