port-of-spain, trinidad (ap)

England is prepared to play aggressive cricket as they seek a series-levelling victory in the fifth and final cricket test against the West Indies beginning today at the Queen's Park Oval, captain Andrew Strauss said.

"1-0 or 2-0 defeat, it's still a defeat. So that's not a massive issue for us. It's more about winning the game," Strauss said after final training yesterday.

"We can't afford to lose or draw this game. Everything we do this week has got to be with that idea in the back of our minds. We need to win the game. A draw is not good enough," he added.

"We're very confident we can do it. Certainly, the cricket we've played in the last two test matches suggests that we can beat the West Indies," he added.

The home team is on the brink of winning back the Wisden Trophy for the first time since 2000 when Nasser Hussain's England side broke 27 years of West Indian dominance with a 3-1 series win in England.

West Indies skipper Chris Gayle admitted his team was caught between protecting its series lead and pressing for another victory.

The West Indies, without a series win since 2004, can shake off years of mediocrity with a series win here in the next week

Strauss hinted that England will field a five-pronged attack as he predicted a pitch which would give more assistance to bowlers, who have struggled on good batting surfaces in the previous tests in the series.

"It looks like there's going to be a little bit of help in it for the bowlers but exactly how much, that remains to be seen," he said. "It certainly doesn't look as flat as the last couple of wickets we've played on, but I still think bowlers are going to have to work reasonably hard for their wickets."