'Absorb the pressure and counteract' – Burns' mantra for success

England were consigned to a 381-run defeat in the first Test by the Windies as the hosts took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The second Test, to be played in Antigua from Thursday, 31 January, will be make-or-break for England if they are to forge a comeback in the series.

Burns said England will have to learn to absorb pressure and wait for the bad balls, especially when the Windies bowl as well as they did in Barbados, where England were bundled out for 77 in their first innings.

"It's about being able to absorb a lot of pressure. They bowled very well first innings. I was out there for 25 balls and I can't remember getting one to hit, really," he said. "Sometimes you've got to absorb that pressure and counteract it. When you do that, you get bad balls and you can put them away."

Burns learnt this lesson the hard way as after contributing two runs to England's first-innings total he scored an impressive 84 in the improbable second-innings chase of 628 runs.

"In between the first and second innings I made a slight alteration in between my own ears of how I was going about it," he said. "With the tempo I played at, and the sort of pressure I managed to transfer, I thought I played quite nicely."

While the fast bowling quartet of Jason Holder, Shannon Gabriel, Kemar Roach and Alzzari Joseph troubled the English batsmen in the first innings, and another young pacer Oshane Thomas has been added to the squad for the second Test, Burns singled out Gabriel as the fastest of the lot.

"He is the quickest out of their four," he said. "It can be uncomfortable. He's actually quite skilful and doesn't give you that many balls to hit. You want to wear him down, keep him bowling, and you want them to use him as a sort of enforcer, the one pushing their attack, and trying to make it uncomfortable."