GIVEN the level of disarray that the England team currently finds itself in, it is a considerable stroke of luck that has ensured that Peter Moores' squad begin their rehabilitation against a side even worse off than they are.

A West Indies team including a buoyant Brian Lara would still have struggled to deal with the kind of early-season conditions that lie in wait this month.

Robbed of their leader and inspiration, the tourists appear little more than sacrificial lambs ahead of their four-Test examination.

England should win at a canter, but even that might not be enough to repair a reputation that was tarnished by last winter's Ashes whitewash and all but obliterated by the World Cup debacle that followed.

To win back the public's faith, England really need to win all four Tests comfortably. More importantly, they need to play and win in style.

Duncan Fletcher's departure became inevitable once his side were booed off the field following the final game of their World Cup campaign.

It wasn't so much that England's fans were disappointed with yet another defeat, it was more that they could no longer stomach the stultifying negativity that Fletcher had tacitly encouraged during the latter stages of his reign.

Two summers ago, England didn't win the Ashes by playing safety-first cricket. They beat the best side in the world because Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff were encouraged to take risks with the bat, Steve Harmison was ordered to be positive and aggressive with the ball, and the side's overall demeanour was both forceful and confident from the off.

Contrast that with last winter, when Fletcher's decision to go with Ashley Giles and Geraint Jones instead of Monty Panesar and Chris Read set the tone for a tour that was characterised by nervousness and fear.

Freed of Fletcher's shackles, it is time for England to regain the initiative that was lost in Brisbane.

The early signs are encouraging. For all that he has groomed Matt Prior through county cricket, Moores' decision to hand the Sussex wicketkeeper-batsman his debut remains an aggressive and positive one.

Andrew Strauss' appointment as captain is equally sound, as it allows Andrew Flintoff to bat and bowl with abandon. Moores has always claimed that tactics are important but, at Lord's at least, Freddie should be told to play with his heart rather than rely on a head that has become befuddled in recent months.

Similarly, Liam Plunkett should be granted full freedom of expression as he returns to the Test arena. Ignored for the vast majority of the winter, Plunkett can be at the vanguard of a new, virile England if he is allowed to make the occasional mistakes that will inevitably accompany his wicket-taking deliveries.

As Moores is all too aware, the new-look England remain a work in progress. But as Fletcher found to his cost, progress is impossible without an occasional risk along the way.

So rather than being settled at Bramall Lane and Old Trafford, the Premiership's relegation battle still looks like being decided in a London courtroom this summer.

There can be little doubt that West Ham benefited from the Carlos Tevez affair. Not only did they avoid a points deduction that had looked all but inevitable at one stage, but they were also allowed to continue to field a player that all but guaranteed their Premiership survival on his own.

Representatives of Sheffield United are understandably aggrieved but, in the cold light of day, the Blades were not relegated because of what went on at West Ham.

They were relegated because they picked up just 38 points from a 38-game season, and because they lost at home to relegation rivals Wigan in the final match of the campaign.

The Premier League's refusal to dock West Ham points left a bitter taste in the mouth, but things would be even worse if the Hammers were subsequently relegated in a courtroom.

Brian Ashton has claimed England's two-Test tour of South Africa will be a "valuable exercise" ahead of this autumn's World Cup.

It looks like being valuable all right - but only to South Africa.

Robbed of around 35 players because of injuries and club commitments, Ashton will be powerless to prevent his side suffering the kind of hidings that have not been seen since 1998's Tour of Hell. And given that England are due to face the Springboks in their second World Cup group game on September 14, the psychological damage could be considerable.