BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):

Interim West Indies coach David Moore says the pending tour of England is an opportunity for the regional team to have a fresh start.

Moore arrived in Barbados early yesterday as the West Indies started to assemble here in preparation for their flight to England today.

"We've got a brand new captain, the head coach has resigned, so from our point of view as team management, it's a fresh start," Moore said.

"It's a good opportunity to move the team forward and we will be looking to all the players to perform at their best levels and looking for each player to move forward on and off the field, in training and in representing the West Indian people in public.

MAJOR LOSS

"We've lost Brian (Lara) which is a major loss and it leaves a big hole, but it is a wonderful opportunity for all the batsmen to stake a claim in replacing him in the side."

Bennett King resigned as coach at the end of the West Indies wretched World Cup campaign and the West Indies Cricket Board moved to appoint Moore as coach.

Moore, who served as King's deputy during his tenure, said he expected several players to step up during the four-Test tour.

Quality runs

"We've got Daren Ganga who has scored some quality runs opening the batting. Once we get through the new ball and establish a base for us to score runs, we then need the middle order to capitalise on that and for players to go ahead to score Test hundreds and there is a chance for those batters to establish themselves," Moore pointed out.

"Also I'm looking for players like (Dwayne) Bravo and (Denesh) Ramdin to also score runs in the lower middle order. It's an important area for us in the past and these guys need to perform.

QUALITY BATSMEN

"(Chris) Gayle, (Shivnarine) Chanderpaul and (Ramnaresh) Sarwan are all quality batsmen but they are probably not happy with the amount of runs they have been scoring recently in Test cricket and we are looking to them to contribute in the batting order."

He continued: "On the bowling side of things, I feel Corey Collymore is a key in our attack. He has been frugal with runs scored against him and can get the ball to swing.

"Overall we have a very good young team who are still learning about all facets of their cricket and I'm really looking forward to working with them during this tour and if they can get their processes right, we can certainly compete with the opposition."