Prior wary of wounded Windies

Matt Prior insists England are fully prepared for a 'tough' opening to the summer and are not taking West Indies lightly.

The Caribbean outfit are not anywhere near the force they once were in the game and come to these shores on the back of a home defeat to Australia. Their first warm-up match was all but washed out and, despite glimpses of promise, were thrashed by 10 wickets by England Lions. Add to that the fact that bowlers Kemar Roach and Ravi Rampaul are now doubtful for the series opener at Lord's, starting on Thursday, after picking up injuries and one could be forgiven for thinking that they would be no match for the world's best Test nation. However, Prior - who is set to revert to number seven to make way for Jonny Bairstow - insists that it would be dangerous to underestimate the Windies or indeed anyone. "It's a very tough series in its own right," the Sussex wicketkeeper-batsman said. "If you get complacent and take things easy in Test cricket, in sport in general, you will get bitten pretty quickly. "There's no room for that in our dressing room. We're taking this series hugely seriously and want to perform well. We want to start the summer off on a high."