Moores expecting another tough battle

PeterMoores - Cropped

After West Indies dug in to grind out a draw in the first Test, Peter Moores says England are well aware of their opponents' strength ahead of the second encounter in Grenada.

On the final day in Antigua, Windies all-rounder Jason Holder made an unbeaten century to see his side to a draw and frustrate the tourists, who still needed three wickets when stumps were drawn.

As the two sides prepare for the second in the three-match series, beginning on Tuesday, Moores is looking for his side to show greater penetration as they go in search of a 1-0 lead.

"We've got to be ready to go and front up and play good cricket against a good team," he said.

"We've seen that with Holder coming in at eight, they've got good depth, [Kemar] Roach can bat and with someone like [Shivnarine] Chanderpaul playing on pitches like this, they are tough guys to get out.

"We have to bowl well to take 20 wickets and play well up front against the new ball.

"We've got to try really hard to go one-nil up in Grenada and then we go to Barbados where there will be huge England support and we're just keeping it simple, and going game by game."

Off-spinner James Tredwell strained his arm in diving for a catch on the final day in Antigua, meaning all-rounder Moeen Ali could come back into the side after he joined up with the squad having recovered from a stomach injury.

"Mo is very much part of our plans. We have to check where he is at because he's had this stomach strain but Mo feels very good about it," Moores said.

"We'll see how he [Tredwell] scrubs up over the next couple of days and see if he's available for the next Test."

James Anderson dominated the headlines following the draw in Antigua, surpassing Ian Botham's mark of 383 Test wickets, and Moores says the seamer will have no problems turning his attentions back to the matter at hand.

"For Jimmy, he can move on and focus on the main thing, which is winning test matches for England, which is what he’s passionate about," he said.

The hosts, meanwhile, have called up seamer Shannon Gabriel in place of left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn, who returned match figures of 2-200 in Antigua.

"We saw a really good display on the final day, which earned us a draw," said head coach Phil Simmons.

"It was a tough situation, but Jason Holder played really well to get his first Test century and we also saw a courageous effort from the captain [Denesh Ramdin] and Kemar Roach at the end.

"We had some good moments in the first match and as a team we will look to improve when we play the second Test.

"We believe we can win, and we will play to win. We know the areas where we need to improve and what is required to win."

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