Eng have the trump card

It's unlikely that Michael Vaughan will threaten to make West Indies grovel during their four-Test series starting on Thursday.

It's simply not his style.

It would be a far less reckless declaration, however, than Tony Greig's similarly worded taunt almost 30 years ago.

England duly lost that series and continued losing.

During the 25 years up to 1998, West Indies won 10 out of 13 rubbers between the teams, with the other three stalemated.

The boot, however, will be firmly on the other foot as the sides head for Lord's and Vaughan seems to hold the big trumps.

England have just moved up to second in the world rankings on the back of six Test wins out of seven. They have dominated West Indies, struggling in eighth in the ICC Test Championship table, in their past two series. And Steve Harmison is in their changing room.

The giant Durham bowler's contributions have been pivotal to the team's resurgence.

He has harvested 53 wickets at 16.69 runs apiece in his last eight Tests. Nine wickets at 8.77 against Bangladesh, 23 at 14.86 in West Indies -- including seven for 12 in the second innings in Jamaica -- followed by 21 victims at a shade over 22 each versus New Zealand.

West Indies' young pace attack, with the aggressive, bouncing Tino Best and the round-armed Fidel Edwards to the fore, looks raw by comparison.

England, however, have some worries.

First there is the absence of batsman Mark Butcher, replaced by Robert Key on the eve of his 43rd Test in a row after suffering neck whiplash in a minor car crash.

Then there are the fitness problems of all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, who is set to play as a specialist batsman.

Vaughan's other significant worry is closer to home.

Since taking over as captain a year ago, his batting has stalled. Before the promotion, he averaged 50.98 and, for a while, was regarded as the world's best batsman.

Since, he has been worth 33.25 a visit. A debate over whether Vaughan is big enough to shoulder the burden has already begun, albeit in whispers.

Brian Lara's batting, in contrast, has never suffered from the additional responsibility of captaincy, and particularly so against England.

He averages almost 68 against them -- compared to an overall Test average of 53.71. His particular appetite for England trundlers has been heavily underlined by 375 against them in Antigua a decade ago, and by 400 not out at the same venue in April.

Significantly, though, neither innings were enough to win either match.

Any set of national selectors would want Lara in their line-up.

But, bowlers being more likely match-winners, most sides might still choose Harmison ahead of Lara and therein lies the main West Indian problem over the next month.

SQUADS

ENGLAND (from): Michael Vaughan (captain), Marcus Trescothick, Robert Key, Andrew Strauss, Graham Thorpe, Andrew Flintoff, Geraint Jones, Ashley Giles, Simon Jones, Matthew Hoggard, Steve Harmison, James Anderson.

WEST INDIES (from): Brian Lara (captain), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Smith, Ridley Jacobs, Ravi Rampaul, Tino Best, Fidel Edwards, Jermaine Lawson, Pedro Collins, Omari Banks, Carlton Baugh, Dwayne Bravo, Sylvester Joseph.