There was a time, from the Sixties through the Nineties, when most West Indians were accustomed to and mastered the vagaries of its climate, conditions and culture after several seasons in county cricket.
But no longer.
The 2004 West Indies team is packed with young players at the start of their careers whose first-hand knowledge of such differences is strictly limited.
To them, it is alien territory that requires a lot of getting used to.
In the 12 days they have had to prepare for their first international matches since they arrived from their utterly different home environment in the Caribbean, they have had an accurate sample of the weather that typifies an English summer.
Their build-up matches for the triangular, one-day NatWest Series they start against New Zealand here tomorrow, followed by England in Nottingham on Sunday, have been alternately played under skies bright, warm and sunny and dank, chilly and overcast.
For their last, scheduled on Wednesday against Middlesex in Shenley, just outside London, they were treated to a combination of 36 hours of steady rain, winter temperatures and gusty winds that would have merited at least a tropical storm warning in the Caribbean.
Predictably, not a ball was bowled. So they took an early coach ride north to Birmingham where conditions were improved enough to allow an extensive practice session at Edgbaston, venue for tomorrow's match, yesterday afternoon.
It was by no means perfect for the thermometer that hovered in the low teens. But, swaddled in warm clothing, they spent over three hours in the nets.
It was more than their forthcoming opponents managed. Yet again, Manchester lived up to its unenviable reputation and England and New Zealand got nowhere in the series opener.
The rain of Wednesday and more yesterday was enough to entirely eliminate yesterday's fixture so that the teams had to settle for a point each in a tournament in which each plays the other three times after which the top two contest the final at Lord's on July 10.
Manager Tony Howard said yesterday one of his priorities had been sourcing "long johns" - warm undergarments usually reserved for winter - and hand warmers.
"We've managed to have everyone outfitted with the necessary warm underwear," he said. "Even in England, you don't expect temperatures like this in late June."
Howard said the aims of captain Brian Lara, coach Gus Logie and himself in the build-up was to give every player a chance, to try a few changes in strategy and to emphasise to each his role in the team.
"The wash-out against Middlesex spoiled the plans a bit," he noted. "But we had long and separate discussions with the senior and junior players after today's practice, talking about their roles and responsibilities, and then will have an overall team meeting tomorrow."
The one advantage of being away from the West Indies is that the team has not been distracted by the controversy that has inevitably erupted over the contrasting reasons presented for the end of Sir Viv Richards' tenure as chief selector.
"Naturally, everyone's aware of it but, from what I've heard, no one's dwelling on it," he said. "Everyone just seems anxious to get on with what they're here for and that's winning cricket matches."
They have won three of the four they have had. The other produced an emphatic and embarrassing loss to Ireland in Dublin.
The victories that followed, over Sussex and Kent, helped restore confidence.