Denesh Ramdin

	'I would have loved to bat through the innings and finish off the game for the team. It is something I should learn from as an opportunity like this may occur in the series again and I should be able to adapt to it' © Getty Images

After we bowled our 24 overs (reduced from 50 due to rain) against the England Lions in the first warm up game and we had a brief ten minutes change over, I was very surprised when Chris Gayle said that I would be opening the batting with him. I really thought he was just joking around. But he was serious and I was really happy.

I went out there and really wanted to experience, from the non-striker's end how he tears apart bowlers. Unfortunately he didn't get many and we didn't get the start that we wanted but Runako (Morton) and I kept the pressure on the England Lions bowlers throughout the innings.

Since we were going along well we decided that we would look to finish the game in 20 overs rather than 24. That did not happen. I got out and the game went down to the last over. We needed three runs from it but Runako slammed a huge six over mid wicket off the first ball.

The entire team was happy in the manner in which we went out and played. Importantly we were able to get the better of three of the England Lions bowlers (James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Michael Yardy) who are now on the full England squad and who they will be using during the series against us.

It was good to have a look at them and see first hand what they can do as new ball bowlers and what they can do with the old ball as well.

With the loss of the early wicket of Chris they really thought they had a chance against us. They thought once he got out early we would have been under pressure but Runako and I took the opportunity to do the job for our team. We played positively against the England Lions bowlers and they were surprised by it.

I am bit disappointed in the manner in which I got out. I would have loved to bat through the innings and finish off the game for the team. It is something I should learn from as an opportunity like this may occur in the series again and I should be able to adapt to it.

I have to personally thank the players who came in and played for us since we had injuries and some late arrivals. They took the opportunity to perform and I think they handled the pressure well.

In the field, as captain for the first time on this tour, Chris handled the bowlers well. He rotated them very well and he didn't allow the England Lions batsmen to get accustomed to one bowler.

By bringing on Marlon Samuels and himself, the slower bowling pulled back the run rate and they picked up wickets as well after England Lions got a very good start.

We will be playing two more warm up games, both 20/20s and then the two international 20/20s against England. We have only played one international 20/20 game as the West Indies team and that was against New Zealand in 2005.

It was very exciting; we finished the game in a tie and had the first ever bowl off in international 20/20. We lost the bowl off but it was very fast paced throughout. The team that makes fewer mistakes will win. You have to always be thinking quickly and make spur of the moment decisions and also take a lot of chances.

England are obviously accustomed playing 20/20. They have a lot of domestic 20/20 so they have more experience at the game that we do and they know their conditions better as well.

We'll try to learn as quickly as possible, adapt to the situation, and try to take the opportunities as they come our way.

	'More responsibility now rests on my shoulders' © Getty Images

The Test series has now come to an end. One-day and Twenty20 cricket starts on Thursday with a warm-up game against England Lions.

Even though we lost the Test series there were a few positives which we can look at and take into the ODI series.

The batting of Shivnarine Chanderpaul is one such thing. I must congratulate him for winning the player-of-the-series award for our side. He was easily the most consistent batsman for us throughout the series.

As a senior batsman he led from the front and I admire the way he played this series. Hopefully he can continue in the same way in the one-dayers and make the best use of his form.

All the bowlers really put up a fight and a difficult task lies ahead for them. Of course another positive thing to come out of the Test series was Darren Sammy's debut performance at Old Trafford where he picked up seven wickets. Even though he got injured in the game and missed the final Test he still showed good signs for the future.

We have a lot of work to do in the Test arena but we are still looking forward to playing Test cricket in the future.

Right now we turn our focus to one-day and Twenty20 cricket. I have been appointed captain and it means more responsibility now rests on my shoulders. I am not worried about that though because I know I have the full support of the guys.

For the game tomorrow here in Worcester I think it is disappointing that we are struggling to find 11 players to turn out for West Indies because the three players who have been added to the squad are not here as yet.

First and foremost I am very disappointed with the West Indian cricket board (WICB) for not having the guys here in England already and ready to play. Some of our players from the Test series are carrying some niggles and we had to call up some West Indian players who are playing in the English leagues to come in as cover for the warm-up game.

As the captain I have to say that this is disappointing and it is not at all a good start. I also have to mention that I was hurt and disappointed that after I was nominated as captain by the selectors, I did not initially get the support of the board.

This led to the situation where I could not give my input in selecting the team. However I have accepted the job and I have to move on with it; we must move forward together.

Things like these (late arrival of the ODI players) won't make us a better team and won’t make West Indies cricket move forward.

The board is always talking about players needing to change but we, the players, need changes from the board as well. We can't be out in the wilderness all the time because we are the ones who are getting all the blame.

These are some of the things that we as players have to go through. The WICB says they want the best out of players but we also need the best out of the board.

Having said all of these things, I spoke to Ramnaresh Sarwan and he sends his best wishes for me and the team. I know he is recovering well and he will be back as soon as possible.

I won't do too much more talking. I am a guy who is just looking for more action than talk right now because that is how I see it.

Denesh Ramdin

	'I have to single out Darren Sammy for his excellent seven-wicket haul in the second innings' © Getty Images

Coming out of the last Test match at Old Trafford, although we lost, there were a lot of positives that we could take from that match.

All the bowlers bowled well. I have to single out Darren Sammy for his excellent seven-wicket haul in the second innings of his debut Test. It was a remarkable performance. He did the job Daren Ganga, the captain, asked him to do which was to contain the English batsmen. And with him getting the ball to do a bit off the pitch, he was rewarded with a heap of wickets.

Shiv (Chanderpaul) played a sensational innings and he was supported by most of the other batsmen, especially Runako (Morton). It was unfortunate that none of the batsmen batted around Shiv and Runako and went on to get bigger scores so that we could have won the game.

There were obviously areas where we faltered. We have reviewed our performance and know where we made our mistakes and in the future we are working on being more aware of those situations to overcome them.

If we had been a little more disciplined in the bowling department in the first innings of that Old Trafford Test we could have gotten England out for a smaller score. We gave away too many extras. 320 would have made a big difference rather than 370.

Although we lost, all the batsmen showed that we were willing to spend time at the crease and bat for long periods to try to win the game even on the fourth and fifth days.

England had the advantage of having a spinner bowling well on the last day on a pitch where there was a lot of rough on both sides for both the right- and left-hand batsman. Our main threat was Monty (Panesar) bowling in the rough to our batsmen. He caused some problems for us and he won the game for England by picking up most of the wickets in the second innings.

There is not much to report on the first day of the final Test here in Durham because it has been rained out and it is now a four day Test match. With the various forecasts we are expecting more bad weather in the coming days.

We did go to the ground today for a look around and after lunch we had a training session at the Newcastle Indoor Cricket facility at the South Northumberland Cricket Club. The guys are still keen on going out there and putting in a 100% effort. We are focused on trying to pull the series back 2-1 and we need to play four days of hard cricket.

	Chanderpaul showed all his experience in a standout performance. © Getty Images

The final Test is upon us now. I am looking forward to it even though the conditions here in Durham are not the best at the moment and not much cricket is expected for the first two days.

There is an expectation of showers and even thunderstorms but those things are out of our control and we have to remain focussed on cricket.

When you look at the last Test match at Old Trafford we showed some good fight and character. That was a very good sign for us coming into this game.

Darren Sammy, on debut, took seven wickets in the second innings to bring us right back into the game - a tremendous effort. It was really good considering that it was his first game. He came into the team and fitted in very neatly and nicely with everyone. We are hoping that he can continue from where he left off in his first Test match and make the best use of his opportunities.

In the batting department, with the team chasing 455 on the last two days at Old Trafford, Daren Ganga and myself did not manage to give the team a good foundation to build on but the other guys stepped up and put in a tremendous effort. Runako Morton and Devon Smith worked well together but the real standout performance was that of our most experienced batsman, Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

It is one of the best hundreds I have ever seen him play, not only because of the circumstances but also as it was a very difficult pitch to bat on. Shiv is leading with his experience and that was a truly stupendous performance from him. It was unfortunate that we fell short by 60 runs.

Even though we lost the game, we improved in many areas and we can all use that game as a motivating factor coming into this game.

It would be nice to end the Test series on a high note as we move into the one-day series. We hope to enjoy it even though the weather won’t be suitable throughout the match but as I mentioned before there is nothing we can do about that.

Denesh Ramdin

	Fidel Edward's pace shook up England © Getty Images

There is no doubt that Fidel Edwards' pace shook them up. Fidel came into this game and brought a different package, he had a lot of the English batsmen playing tentatively. He hurried their strokeplay with pace but also bowled with some amount of control as well.

Darren Sammy bowled well on debut. He did what the captain, Daren Ganga, also his first game as captain asked him to do by bowling a lot of dot balls and maiden overs. He built up the pressure from one end. It was obviously the pressure which gave him his first Test wicket, that of England opener Alastair Cook who was brilliantly caught by Dwayne 'Johnny' Bravo at gully.

Corey Collymore, the workhorse of our bowling attack and Jerome Taylor bowled well in partnerships as well and were rewarded with wickets. Corey in particular bowled a lot of very testing and maybe teasing deliveries to the English batsmen and had them quiet for the most part. In the meantime Bravo was trying his best to contain whenever he bowled as well.

All in all our bowlers did a good job on the first day and the first innings in general.

Overnight our plan was to get the remaining England batsmen out as quickly as possible. On the other hand the England batsmen came out trying to be a lot more aggressive and runs were scored quickly but we were able to get them out in the first hour for a competitive score.

In the batting department I don't think there was much sustained penetration by the England bowling attack. Our batting performance was mostly due to bad shot selection and a lack of discipline and application at the crease.

I think we all know where we went wrong. We did not build enough partnerships and did not spend time at the crease. We now find ourselves playing catch up cricket again. It is crucial for us to be disciplined in the second innings when we bowl and bat. We have to take away the boundary deliveries and make the English batsmen work hard for their runs. And we have to take all the chances which come our way.

On the third day the morning session would be very important. If we can pick up a few wickets quickly then England can be on the back-foot and the game can be in our favour with a lot of time still left in the Test match. It is the old cliché now of which team wants it more.

Chris Gayle

	Runako Morton's 201 led the way against the MCC XI © Getty Images

It was a decent practice game against the MCC XI at the Racecourse Ground in Durham. A couple of the guys got decent scores with Runako Morton leading the way and getting his first double century and hopefully he can carry that form into the Test match.

Denesh Ramdin, our wicketkeeper batsman, also got a century and looked good as well.

The bowlers looked true to form, they are coming into good form and overall it was a good all round preparation game for us leading up the to Old Trafford Test match.

I did not get a chance to bat in the game due to a minor rib muscle tear which I sustained while bowling in the MCC XI first innings. It might sound a bit strange that a spinner gets a rib muscle tear but these things do happen in cricket. I was very disappointed not to get a hit in the warm up game but we did not want to risk any further damage so I opted out from batting.

I will have a hit in the net session tomorrow at Old Trafford and see how if feels but I am confident of playing in the third Test. Bowling might be an issue and we will make a decision on that on the morning of the Test match. I would really like to get some batting under my belt before the Test match and will make the best use of the net sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday.

All is well so far generally speaking and the weather has been getting better by getting warmer and warmer which is good for us as West Indians.

The word going around is that the Old Trafford pitch is a bouncy one but we will have to play what we see on the day. It's a good ground for cricket, a good venue for cricket.

Despite losing the last Test match we are all focused and are upbeat about the third Test match. We are thinking positively and will be focused on working hard to win the third Test match and level the series one all.

Marlon (Samuels) has arrived and has fitted in well with the group like always. I am sure he is looking forward to the task ahead of him.

A lot has been said and it's now action time.