Fast bowler Fidel Edwards lets one fly during a West Indies practice session at the Racecourse Ground in Durham, yesterday. - Contributed

DURHAM CITY, England (CMC):

THE WEST Indies say they have put the Headingley debacle behind them and are hoping to get the most out of their three-day match against an MCC XI starting today at the Racecourse Ground.

The West Indies crashed to a heavy innings and 283-run, defeat in the second Test earlier this week inside four days.

"We have put what happened in Headingley behind us. We knew where we went wrong, we are trying to stay positive, stay upbeat and at this session we achieved that," stand-in West Indies captain Daren Ganga said.

"We're looking forward to this three-day game against the MCC XI and we're looking to get a lot of positives out of this so we can go into the third Test a lot more confident about our per-formances and ourselves.

"We've got an inexperienced side, a young side and the guys are learning as we go along. It's very important for us to learn fast. If we don't make the same mistakes again, we're heading in the right direction.

"All the guys are keen and we're looking forward to starting well tomorrow and having three good days of cricket before we head into the third Test.

West Indies trail 1-0 in the four-Test series after the first Test at Lord's was drawn after a positive West Indies batting performance.

Failed batting

However, their batting failed in both innings of the Headingley Test to give the hosts the advantage in the series.

Ganga, who has replaced the injured Ramnaresh Sarwan, said the side would be hoping to use the tour match to get further acclimatised to the English conditions which have been damp and wet so far.

"It's a wonderful opportunity to get accustomed to the English conditions. Before we played the first Test, our first warm-up game was washed out so the guys are very keen to get started here," Ganga pointed out.

"There are guys who have been out of both Test matches and did not have an opportunity to play otherwise, so this is a wonderful opportunity for them to stake a claim to play in the third Test match.

"(It will be) a lot of opportunities for batting form, for bowling form and getting good performances in going into that third Test match."

Meanwhile, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) yesterday confirmed Jamaica middle-order batsman Marlon Samuels had been called up to replace Sarwan in the Test squad.