Christopher Martin-Jenkins, The Times: "If they cannot immediately turn the tables on England in the next few weeks, at least the 2004 West Indies can entertain us, continue to rebuild and perhaps even point towards a future almost as vivid as their past. That it was the West Indies, not England, who reached the final of the NatWest Series against New Zealand, was a reminder to the home team there can be no complacency after their undefeated run of ten Test matches since last winter's activities begun, nine of them won."
Ian Bishop, former West Indies fast bowler, in The Times: "The weather conditions are going to be significant. If it continues to be overcast, it will be a bowlers' series which will favour the English bowlers, given the inexperience of the West Indies attack. I also think England's batsmen will cope better with the swinging ball. If the sun comes out, West Indies can think about drawing the series. I hate saying that because not playing to win is something I never thought of as a player but you have to be realistic. If the ball swings, England will win."
Shane Warne, Australia's champion leg-spinner, in The Times: "England are a well-drilled side who beat them (the West Indies) convincingly only a few months ago and they will be familiar with Lara's strengths and weaknesses. They know he will be the key wicket. Stephen Harmison did pretty well against him over the winter but Lara will have thought about that and come up with a plan of his own. And nobody should forget the way he ended that series - by scoring 400 not out."
Nasser Hussain, former England captain, in the Daily Mail: "I believe the weather and the conditions will have a major bearing on the outcome of the four matches over the next month. Put simply, if conditions are overcast, humid or damp, I expect England to triumph fairly comfortably, perhaps winning three matches as we did in the Caribbean in the spring. But if the sun comes out and all is set fair for the batsmen on flat wickets, I think it will be very close. England will have to work hard and the games are more likely to go the distance."
Andrew Strauss, England's left-handed batsman, in the Sunday Telegraph: "Despite the West Indies getting some confidence out of the NatWest Series, I do not believe the scars they received by getting trounced in their own back yard last winter will have properly healed."
Clive Lloyd, former West Indies captain, in the Sunday Times: "A captain must inspire his players that they always try and want to do their best for him. We have seen from Lara's batting against England last winter that he is capable of inspiring any West Indies cricketer. If he achieves that, he will be on to a winner. If he does not, there will be a lack of loyalty and he - and any other captain - may not achieve such good results."
Graham Thorpe, England's left-handed batsman: "One certainty this summer is that we'll boot complacency into touch. A 3-0 scoreline indicates an easy victory in the Caribbean - but those who played know how tough it really was. For their part, West Indies, and Lara in particular, will come at us hard, to prove that they are still a force. We have to be as focused, as professional and as ruthless as necessary."
Vic Marks, former England off-spinner in The Observer: "My hunch is that the forthcoming Test series will follow the modern pattern of fast scoring. The West Indies bowling attack - fast but potentially wayward - induces strokeplay while the instinct of most West Indies batsmen is to play their shots. Moreover, the pitches are liable to be batsmen friendly Benign surfaces do not particularly suit England. In the Caribbean, they excelled when there was some life and unpredictability in the pitches. But in Antigua, on a featherbed, West Indies could dominate even if they could not win."
Michael Holding, former West Indies fast bowler, in The Times: "I have been there. I have experienced it myself. I have faced fast bowling. I have bowled fast. I know the effect it has on batsmen, on their minds, even before the game starts. They are thinking about it. When you have bowling of great pace, it makes you into a completely different team and when England go into the first Test on Thursday they will be led by the best fast bowler in the world today. Yes, that is how highly I rate Steve Harmison on the evidence of the past four months in which I have seen him bowl England to victory against the West Indies in the Caribbean and New Zealand at home."