LONDON, England, CMC – West Indies skipper Chris Gayle has challenged his struggling side to adapt to the demanding early Spring weather as they chase a series-levelling win in the second and final Test against England starting next Thursday.

West Indies never came to grips with the bleak conditions and chilly temperatures that plunged close to 10 degrees Celsius and collapsed to an embarrassing 10-wicket defeat inside three days at Lord’s on Friday.

The tourists will now travel to northeast England for the second Test at Chester-le-Street in Durham where temperatures are expected to be even more challenging, but Gayle said the team needed to quickly adjust to the conditions they encountered.

“It’s very disappointing, but we have to try and put that behind us now and have the self-belief to go out and get the job done in Durham,” Gayle stressed following the first Test debacle.

“That will be in tough conditions, but we’ll just have to cope with it and make sure we are well-prepared. We are looking forward to it.”

Gayle, under pressure for his late return from the Indian Premier League in South Africa which left him with just 48 hours to acclimatize before the first Test, failed miserably with scores of 28 and 0.

The aggressive left-hander admitted the weather had been hard to cope with in North London as he had never played so early in the year in England before.

“The majority of the time I was batting out there, that wind was hitting me in the eye and there was a lot of water in the eyes as well,” Gayle recalled.

“It makes a big difference, but this is the disadvantage we have to cope with. You just have to tough it out and try to get the job done as well as possible.”

He added: “I’ve never been in England so early for a tour, and the conditions are always going to be a bit different from later on in the summer. But we have to adapt.

“It would be nice if we get that opportunity to tour a bit later. There would be a lot more sunshine. That would be good.”

“We need to reflect on the manner in which we lost this game and try to have some discussion, put things in place and then come up with a final XI for the next Test match. The teams are very even-steven. The difference is the conditions,” said Gayle.

Gayle earlier blamed the weather for his team’s demise inside three days, contending the tourists had not adapted properly to the chilly, early Spring temperatures.

In both innings, the West Indies batsmen failed to cope with England’s seam and spin attack and crumbled meekly for 152 and 256 respectively.

Debutant seamer Graham Onions proved the Windies bane in their first innings, snaring five for 38 to ensure they followed on 225 runs behind.

Gayle said they would be looking to get on top of Onions in the next Test which starts at Chester-le-Street next Thursday.

“We’ve had a bit of Onion, and it’s burned us in the eye. We hope we can stop that in the next Test match,” Gayle said.

“He’s not express but he bowled well and hit the right areas. You have to give credit to any bowler picking up five wickets on their debut.

“Well done to Onions [but] we’ll have to counter-attack in the next Test match.”