Hooper determined to redeem season with Grenada win

St. George's (Grenada), June 27: West Indies captain Carl Hooper said on Thursday he was determined to redeem his team's season by beating New Zealand in the second and final test starting on Friday.

Hooper, heavily criticised in the Caribbean for the 204-run thumping his team received in the first test in Barbados that finished within four days, said the West Indies had enjoyed a good season and the defeat was annoying.

"I don't think we have been beaten so convincingly within four days. It was hard to swallow," Hooper told reporters at the Queen's Park ground, which becomes the latest test venue when play starts on Friday.

Hooper said it had not yet been decided whether to include leg spinner Mahendra Nagamootoo in the team or whether to persist with four seamers on a wicket that has the reputation of playing flat and slow.

"I want to finish on a good note. I think we have done well this summer and I want to finish strongly against a good New Zealand side," he said.

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said he was surprised to see the wicket being heavily watered on Friday morning, 24 hours before the start of the match.

"I had thought after seeing the track yesterday that I'd bat first on this wicket but this raises a few different questions. We'll have to see what it looks like tomorrow morning," he said.

Ground staff were rolling mown grass into the wicket on Friday, a practice that gives a wicket a greener look and adds a little moisture. Ground staff said there might be some life in the wicket on the first morning but it was likely to be flat for the rest of the match.

The ground has just been completed and is one of the most picturesque in a region famous for attractive cricket grounds. It is surrounded by the Caribbean Sea on one side and steep hills on the other, with houses clinging onto the hillside.

New Zealand's players have been praised for their professionalism in the Caribbean, training hard for the past two days. The West Indies practised fielding for half an hour on Thursday morning, looking very relaxed as temperatures reached 32 degrees centigrade.