The only surprising element of the touring party was the omission of Peter Such, the leading wicket taker against Australia, in favour of the promising Ian Salisbury, though it seemed that Phil Tufnell was considered the senior spinner in the squad.

They were led by a weary Richie Richardson, who had complained prior to the series about the excessive amount of cricket that he and strike bowlers Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh had been required to play in the previous twelve months.

Veteran West Indian commentator Tony Cozier noted in the Independent that the supporting bowlers were "all worthy triers with modest county records who are unlikely to worry Atherton and his fellow batsmen".

In the first, representing St Kitts and Nevis, he took three of the England top order wickets in the first innings, dismissing Michael Atherton, Matthew Maynard and Nasser Hussain.

The England eleven contained four seamers and no specialist spinner, with Alan Igglesden getting the nod for the fourth spot ahead of the injured Angus Fraser (fractured finger) and Steve Watkin (back trouble).

Matthew Maynard dug in, but with wickets falling all around him, especially with Kenny Benjamin's impressive line and movement, he was unable to attack, and none of the tail could muster any significant support.

These two added 144, then Adams (95*) came to the party, and with excellent support from Murray and Winston Benjamin took the hosts to an impressive 389/6 before Caddick (3–94) and Chris Lewis combined to wrap the tail up.

England's second innings was a disappointment to rival the first – of the batsmen only Hick provided any real resistance, demonstrating a previously absent confidence against fast bowling.

England were inserted and started disastrously, losing Stewart and Ramprakash to Walsh's new ball spell before Atherton (144) and Smith (84) settled in, removed the shine and set about building the innings.

Arthurton went cheaply, but Jimmy Adams justified his continued selection with a superb 137, his maiden test century, sharing partnerships of 112 with Lara, 126 with Chanderpaul (62) and 64 with Winston Benjamin, before being the last man out.

Post-match, Atherton identified the bowling as a key weakness in the England side, noting the speed with which the home team scored their runs, while Richardson mischievously targeted a 5–0 series whitewash.

[12] Richardson won the toss and elected to bat, a decision that looked excellent as the captain (63), veteran opener Haynes and young star Lara guided the West Indies to 158/1.

Only Stewart managed to get into double figures, and only he and Thorpe survived more than half an hour at the crease facing the menace of Walsh and Ambrose, and by the close on the fourth day, England were reeling at 40/8, still 5 short of their lowest score in Tests.

Captain Atherton noted that "we played well for three days", and journalist Alan Lee reported that England "are short not only of technical excellence but of mental resilience and self-belief" when the pressure is applied.

[13] England's preparation for the fourth test included a first-class match against a West Indies board side that pretty much outplayed the tourists, which was not what they had wanted, though Hick and Ramprakash both scored vital runs to help build their individual confidence.

Stewart and Ramprakash added a further 52, but the middle order were unable to build on this and although several batsmen got starts, the tourists had to rely on Russell's 38 to shepherd the tail to a defendable total.

"[14] With Haynes and Richardson both absent after their injuries in the Barbados Test, the West Indies needed two new openers and drafted in Phil Simmons and debutant Stuart Williams to fill those roles.

Walsh won the toss and batted, and the two new openers were soon back in the pavilion, Caddick and Fraser picking up the wickets in their first spells, leaving the home side 12/2 and bringing Lara to the crease early in the day.

Brian Lara established himself as one of the world's pre-eminent batsmen with his triple century in Antigua, and was well supported by Jimmy Adams, Desmond Haynes and the emerging Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

Curtly Ambrose spearheaded the attack to devastating effect at times, and when he was not totally on form the back up bowling, particularly of Kenny Benjamin, delivered to fill the gap.

The fourth seamer spot may still also be up for grabs, despite Winston Banjamin's occasional success, and the lack of depth may be exposed if Ambrose and Walsh are unable to replicate their so-far excellent form.