By Michelle McDonald
Observer writer

LONDON, England - Television coverage during the fourth and final Test match against England showed West Indian fielders with their hands in their pockets. To viewers in the Caribbean, it may have appeared as if they were being nonchalant and lackadaisical.

However, they were only trying to keep warm... something taken for granted in the Caribbean. In their pockets were little sacs called 'hand warmers'.

This is just one of the tools West Indian cricketers use to cope while playing in very cold weather.

The clear blue skies over Lord's during the first Test would have been deceptive to those who had never been to England before. As they found out, it was by no means warm. Although the weather forecast was for sunshine on the second day of the match, it was very windy, and the breeze was very, very cold. Fortunately, the players are equipped with suitable gears.

"We are well prepared in terms of clothing. We have two sweaters and long sleeve shirts," said Sylvester Joseph, who played one season with league club Shaw, located in Manchester, in northern England. Joseph was 12th man for the first Test and so escaped much of the cold, crisp weather by being mostly indoors.

Injured West Indies captain Ramnaresh Sarwan tries to wear as many T-shirts under his cricket gear as can fit. His introduction to the infamous British weather was during the 2000 series. It proved something of a shock since, unlike many cricketers from the West Indies, he had not played league cricket in England before.

"I found it very difficult," he said, but despite that, Sarwan ended up with an average of 40.75 for the three matches he played back then. Not bad for someone who was uncomfortable being in the cold!

The right handed batsman spent a few weeks playing for Gloucestershire in 2005. "At one stage, I wore three pants and seven shirts! It was funny to my teammates, but that was the way I felt most comfortable and would perform my best," he explained.

With all of that clothing, if a batsman is running many singles and twos, wouldn't he get too hot and have to strip off all the layers?

"No, not really. You would actually want to perspire rather than be cold, so I keep it on to stay warm," Sarwan said. Sometimes there is no perspiration. "If it's really cold, you don't really sweat," said Joseph.

Jimmy Adams, the former West Indies captain turned television commentator, said he used to wear a T-shirt under his playing shirt along with one or two sweaters. If he became too hot, he would take off one sweater, and if it got chilly, send for it again. With the British weather being as peculiar as it is, the 12th man would no doubt have been kept very busy.

After the record defeat in the second Test at Headingley, West Indies team Manager Mike Findlay said that the icy cold conditions may have distracted some of the players. He said that he, along with the rest of the management staff, would have had to get the players to draw from their deep inner resources and understand the conditions that they would be playing under for the rest of the tour. "They've got to forget the elements and be as professional as they ought to be, and play under those conditions," he said at the time.

Darren Sammy, the St Lucian who made an impressive debut in the third Test at Old Trafford, needed little lecturing in this department. The West Indies all-rounder, who was involved with the MCC Young Cricketers programme, said that after five seasons in England, he has pretty much got accustomed to the British weather.

His method is to manipulate the mind. He said, "I try to keep my mind off of it, and motivate myself to go out there and face the challenge." According to the matter-of-fact Sammy, cricket is played whether it is cold or sunny.

He said: "The wind will be blowing, it will be breezy and you just have to adapt and be mentally strong. My method first of all, is to be mentally prepared, and then once your mind gets over it, I think the rest should come easy." Somehow, one doubts that his teammates would agree with him.

The fear factor

Feeding the multitude

DANGEROUS PETS