CANTERBURY, England, (CMC) – Assistant coach Toby Radford has urged the West Indies batsmen to make critical adjustments to their technique in order to succeed in the challenging English conditions.
Radford, who hails from Wales, warned that conditions were often seamer-friendly and it was therefore important the tourists made the most of their second three-day first-class match against Kent starting Sunday, in order to continue their acclimatisation process.
The Windies played well in the first warm-up match against Essex last week, and will look for another solid workout when they face a Kent side led by England limited overs batsman Sam Billings.

“The conditions in England, generally you get a lot of swing and seam. You think the ball is there to drive and then it dips and nips away, so what we’re urging is to play as late as possible and as straight as possible.
“We know the conditions and we know what to expect. The last few days we have worked really hard and our preparations are coming along quite well.”
West Indies arrived in England last Saturday and opened their tour a few days later against Essex at Chelmsford where they impressed in the outing.

Roston Chase, one of the rookie batsmen on tour but who is expected to be a key member of the line-up, gathered half-centuries in the contest to immediately find his touch.
The 25-year-old has played just 10 Tests but was the leading scorer in the recent three-Test series against Pakistan when he stroked 403 hundreds at an average of a 100, including two centuries.
Only three members of the Windies 15-man squad – Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel and Kieran Powell – have played a Test in England before but Radford said despite the inexperience, confidence was still very high.

“We have a young side and we have a very talented side. We really believe we are developing and there is huge confidence in the dressing room,” he explained.
“We are not the finished article, there is still a lot of work to be done but I believe in this team we have players who will entertain and show the world what we’ve got.”
Following the upcoming match, West Indies will play a third three-day warm-up match against Derbyshire – a day/night contest using the pink ball as the visitors prepare for the first Test match under lights in England at Edgbaston starting August 17.