Gayle, Strauss ignore distractions ahead of third Test

Captains Chris Gayle and Andrew Strauss are confident the distractions of the abandoned second cricket Test will not affect their teams in the hastily arranged third Test at the Antigua Recreation Ground on Sunday.

"We gathered yesterday and had a discussion about it," Gayle said. "Our main focus is now playing a Test match at the ARG.

"It was not too difficult because we are here to play cricket. It's the same game plan we had before," he added. "It's a new venue but we have to be ready for it and hopefully we can get things right again."

The West Indies leads 1-0 in the series, which is now a five-Test rubber following the abandonment of Friday's second match at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium after just 10 balls because of an unfit outfield.

England skipper Strauss said that such a diversion should not affect his players and their preparation.

"I suppose it's one of those situations - a little bit like the terrorist attacks in Mumbai - where your normal day-to-day routine is thrown out of sync to quite a large degree," Strauss said.

"We'll have a practice today and try to get our heads around the fact that we're going to be starting at a different ground," he added. "That's what we do as cricketers. We travel around the world, we play at different grounds all the time. It shouldn't be anything that we can use as an excuse or anything like that."

The ARG was the home of international cricket in Antigua between 1981 and 2006, hosting 21 Tests before the Richards Stadium was purpose built for the 2007 World Cup.

The venue, in the heart of the capital St. John's, has been host to many batting records, including Brian Lara's two Test record scores of 375 and 400 not out, both against England in 1994 and 2004.

It has generally been a graveyard for bowlers but both teams experienced more spicy conditions at the ARG when they practiced there in the lead-up to the second Test.

"There was a bit of pace and bounce in it to be honest but it didn't misbehave," Strauss said. "Whether that will be the case come tomorrow (Sunday) morning remains to be seen."

Strauss said such conditions could work in his teams' favor.

"Any wicket that offers the chance of a result is good for us at this stage, being 1-0 down in the series" he said. "And if there's a bit of pace and bounce, we have bowlers who can exploit that."

The ARG has been scarred by the frequent football played on the outfield, with the lines having eroded away the grass.

But Strauss was confident there would be no problems on the day.

"No one wants to see a career-threatening injury just for the sake of trying to put a Test match on," he said. "The Recreation Ground outfield is not ideal but I don't think it's dangerous."

"You might misfield a few or you might get a few that bobble and hit you in the chest or something but in terms of bad, career-threatening injuries, I think it should be OK."

Strauss hinted that England may bring back tall fast bowler Steve Harmison in place of James Anderson, who was included at the Richards Stadium to exploit any swing that was available.

"You pick the right team for the conditions. You would be stupid not to do that," he said.