England and the West Indies meet for the second time in a week and the twelfth time in 100 days at the Riverside on Thursday. If they are sick of the sight of each other they are probably not alone.

The first Test at Lord's last week was entertaining as it goes but a poor advert for the five-day game. The West Indian lack of preparation was stark and without an enormous improvement they will relinquish the Wisden Trophy after two months.

That improvement is difficult to imagine after the West Indies captain Chris Gayle went further than his strongest critics have dared in the last fortnight: he told The Guardian that he doesn't care for Test cricket or the West Indies captaincy, and is immediately more interested in himself than the team.

At time of writing he will lead the West Indies in the second Test at Durham although there is a strong case for him not doing so. The circumstances of this series have not been ideal but his response has lacked the grace demanded of a West Indies captain, or anyone who has negotiated adolescence.

If Gayle does keep his place, and Denesh Ramdin is not required to lead the side, big changes are not expected. This is not because all in possession deserve their places as much as a lack of alternative options. Devon Smith and Lendl Simmons are short of runs and either could be replaced by Dale Richards. Other options are all-rounders Daren Sammy and David Bernard, but 20 wickets are not impossible to come by at the Riverside so six batsmen is the logical strategy.

England have included Ian Bell and Ryan Sidebottom since Lord's, leaving out Monty Panesar. Tim Bresnan is the man under threat. Bell could come in if England think four bowlers can get the job done again; Sidebottom would further strengthen the bowling attack while lengthening the tail. To drop Bresnan would be very harsh after one game and there has to be a benefit in seeing more of the Yorkshireman in Test conditions.

The best argument for a change is that you should always field the best team in a Test match out of respect for the game and the opposition. Somehow that doesn't ring true this week.

Key Players

England: Graham Onions had a great debut and is now on home turf. If conditions favour him to the extent expected then another big haul ought to come his way.

West Indies: Fidel Edwards did well at Lord's last week and in the north-east two years ago, and will have to take the fight to the home side.

Prediction

England have been accused of lacking respect for the West Indies over the course of this marathon pan-ocean series but between last week's result, their record at the Riverside and West Indian disarray they could hardly be stronger favourites.

Last Five Head-to-Head:

2009: 1st Test: England won by 10 wickets at Lord's, London.
2009: 5th Test: Match drawn at the Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain.
2009: 4th Test: Match drawn at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown.
2009: 3rd Test: Match drawn at the Antigua Recreation Ground, St John's.
2009: 2nd Test: Match abandoned at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound.

Likely Teams:

England: Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss, Ravi Bopara, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Matt Prior, Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, Graham Onions, James Anderson.

West Indies: Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Lendl Simmons, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Brendan Nash, Denesh Ramdin, Jerome Taylor, Sulieman Benn, Lionel Baker, Fidel Edwards.

Dates: 14th-18th May, 11.00-13.00, 13.40-15.40, 16.00-18.00 (all times BST).

Match Referee: Andy Pycroft
Umpires: Steve Davis and Asoka de Silva

Peter May