By Anthony Foster, Freelance WriterWEST INDIES skipper Brian Lara expressed confidence in his team heading into the first Test in the four-match Cable and Wireless series against England.
The series bowls off at Sabina Park tomorrow and speaking to journalists after team practice at the match venue yesterday morning, Lara said: "I'm pretty, pretty confident. I think the guys are very upbeat and you can tell the difference in the atmosphere comparing to maybe away from home. It's a very confident group of guys going into this Test match."
Despite his optimism, Lara believes it will be a hard-fought series.
"It's not going to be a walk-over for either team, we have got to respect what England has done recently," he pointed out.
"They have travelled better than they have done in the past.
"We are still to get over that hurdle. They were in Sri Lanka, Australia and different places and they have done quite well, also during the series against South Africa recently in England, comparing to our 0-3 to them, which serves as a great warning."
Lara added: "We are not going to take this series easily and we know that they are going to be tough and we've got to play good cricket to come out on top."
A WINNER
Further, he predicted that there will be a winner.
"Maybe because the pitches in the Caribbean cater for that (winning) ... hot weather, deterioration of the pitches, greater than many other places in the world, so I'm seeing results," observed Lara.
