GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC):

No doubt still reeling from the dreadful mix up that cost them the opening game, West Indies will be faced with a stern test of their character when they face England in the second one-day international (ODI) of the Digicel series today.

Their one-run defeat under the Duckworth/Lewis Method, courtesy of coach John Dyson's terrible miscalculation on Friday, was a heart-wrenching manner in which to lose but with little time to recover, West Indies' mental strength will be severely put under the microscope when play gets under way at the National Stadium at Providence at 9:30 a.m.

Given a break

Dyson's error in calculation, after bad light brought the DL Method into play, potentially robbed the Windies of a confidence-boosting victory but more importantly, it gave a beleaguered England side the break it so desperately craved.

They had failed to win a match to date on their Caribbean tour, and with the regional side requiring 28 from 22 balls when Dyson mistakenly called the players off, regional fans would have been betting on another Windies victory.

As it stands, West Indies enter today's match 1-0 down, requiring a win to lift the gloom brought on by Friday's defeat.

Captain Chris Gayle told reporters yesterday that the team had been hit hard by the manner of the loss, but stressed they were also trying to refocus with four matches left in the series.

"I spoke about trying to clear our minds as quickly as possible because we have a long way to go in this series," Gayle said "It's only the first game but we have a very important game tomorrow again and we have to try and get back into winning ways."

Confusing end

With West Indies on 244 for seven in the 47th over chasing 271 for victory, umpires offered light to the batsmen and they accepted under instruction from Dyson.

The Australian, however, had misread the 'par' score under the DL Method and believed West Indies to be ahead when England were actually leading at that stage by one run.

It resulted in 10 minutes of confusion at the end of the game before match officials declared England winners of the contest.

"Messages were being sent out to the batters. Batters who were in to bat next were aware of the situation," Gayle explained. "We sat down there together and we checked it and double-checked it but we didn't double-check it with any match referee or any other person.

The messy end to the match over-shadowed several outstanding performances which Gayle will hope can be replicated today.

Rookie opener Lendl Simmons, in only his ninth ODI, batted maturely for his 62 while the experienced duo of Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shiv Chanderpaul showed they were still in form following the Test series.

England, with their tails up for the first time in the series, will look to capitalise on the fortuitous win and look to make amends for their Test series loss.

Experienced all-rounder Paul Collingwood said the win had lifted the side's confidence and they were now more upbeat ahead of the second match.