LONDON, July 11: Captain Brian Lara said he did not think their triangular series final defeat would interfere with West Indies' preparation for the forthcoming Tests with England.

Lara, however, believes there are plus points for his young team ahead of the four-match Test series, where the tourists seek to avenge a 3-0 Caribbean drubbing by Michael Vaughan's side earlier this year.

Upon arrival here a month ago, Lara declared the best chance of success would be in the triangular tournament and September's ICC Champions Trophy, where individual errors are not magnified as they are in the longer form of the game.

"We have got to separate this from the rest of the tour," Lara insisted. "Now the one-day series is over and there are a lot of positives we can take into the next couple of months like the fact we were in the final and England, the host country, were not.

"Also we have had a few weeks of playing cricket in English conditions, whereas normally you arrive two weeks ahead of the first Test match. "The guys have become accustomed to the weather and we are in a better position for an upcoming Test series than if we had just arrived.

"Hopefully in the warm-up games batters can start thinking of long innings and bowlers getting the ball in the right areas and being more hostile." Despite the often appalling conditions during the one-day tournament, New Zealand coped best out of the three sides to extend their best-ever run to nine straight wins and have an overall record of just two defeats in 15 under coach John Bracewell, the man who dominated domestically in limited-overs cricket with Gloucestershire. - AFP