Jerome Taylor - File

Fast bowler Jerome Taylor was left behind, as the West Indies cricket team departed for England yesterday, following concerns being raised regarding the player's fitness.

Taylor, who missed the last one-day international against England because of injuries, was later involved in a car accident, which also ruled him out of Kings XI Punjab team for the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Fitness test

The regional cricketers, minus captain Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Fidel Edwards, met at the Norman Manley International Airport yesterday en route to Britain.

Fielding questions regarding Taylor's absence, team manager Omar Khan explained that the player would have to be assessed before joining the rest of the team. Khan said Dr Akshai Mansingh would have a look at Taylor this week. Following that, Paul Campbell, president of the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) and David Cameron, vice-president of the WICB, will arrange a fitness test for him. once passed, he would be expected to join the team by April 27.

Khan also said he had got a commitment from Gayle and Edwards that they would join the team in time for the start of the Test series.

Dave Richards, Narsingh Deonarine, Darren Sammy, Sulieman Benn, Lionel Baker, Devon Smith, Lendl Simmons, Denesh Ramdin and Nelon Pascal are the players who arrived in the island. They are to be joined by Jamaicans Andrew Richards, Brendan Nash and David Bernard Jr.

Ramdin, the team's vice-captain, expressed confidence ahead of the tour.

"We did well against them here and it's the same guys, so we just need to go out there and put everything together," he said.

A tougher contest

"So far, the guys have done the job for us, so I don't see why we should not go out there and do it again," he continued, noting however, that he expected a tougher contest from England, who would be playing at home.

"They are playing at home and they are going to come at us. they are used to the conditions as well, we will try and not let that play on our minds. We are going out there to play our game," he added.

Asked about their readiness for English conditions, Ramdin replied: "A lot of the younger players played a lot of league cricket in England, so it's not an unusual experience, so they just have to go out there and execute."