Bonner eager to face England

The West Indies and England are set to square off in the first Test in Antigua starting today, with Jamaican batsman Nkrumah Bonner relishing the opportunity of facing the Three Lions.

After scoring 35 and 44 in the last Test against Sri Lanka in November, Bonner is keen to get back out in the middle to continue the propulsion of his ever-improving international Test career.

The right-handed St Catherine native is the only current West Indies Test player to average over 40 runs in the longest format, despite having a modest first-class average of 28.86.

His 577 runs in 16 innings for the West Indies is a testament to the hard work which he continues to put in, with the England series firmly planted in his mind.

"The four-day game I played for Jamaica versus Barbados went well after spending some time at the crease," Bonner said. "We have done a lot of hard work in this recent camp and I am looking forward to playing against England. It is an important series for us and it is one that I want to stand up for."

England has only won one Test series in the Caribbean in over 50 years, and Bonner is keen to continue that dominance for the regional side, however, the right-hander is not going too far ahead regarding specific runs production this series.

"For me, numbers give you limitations," he said. "It's about making as many runs for any team I play for. My job and main priority are to score runs."

Despite England coming to the Caribbean without two of their most senior bowlers, James Anderson and Stuart Broad, Bonner says England will be challenging throughout the series.

"It's a Test game nevertheless, whether Anderson or Broad is playing," he said. "They still have quality bowlers and in every Test series it is the same approach."

The teams will then move to Barbados for the second Test from March 16-20, before wrapping up the series in Grenada from March 24-28.