A SENIOR West Indies team official believes the regional side can begin their climb from the doldrums of international cricket, starting with next month's series in New Zealand.

David Williams, the team's assistant coach and a former Test wicketkeeper/batsman, said while there were problems with the cricket structure in the Caribbean, a revival in West Indies cricket was not far away.

"There are several theories but somewhere the West Indies system has failed," Williams said on Friday.

"There are a lot of things to be done to revive West Indies cricket and I sincerely believe it will come because I don't see any dearth of talent. This West Indies team will improve in time and one good series, like the one we are about to play in New Zealand, can set things right," he said.

The West Indies leave here this week for New Zealand where they will engage the hosts in two Tests, two Twenty20 internationals and five one-day internationals.

Underdogs

When the regional side last toured New Zealand in 2006, it lost a three-Test series 2-0 and will start as underdogs in this series, in light of its recent Test form. The West Indies have not won a Test series against a side ranked higher than them in almost six years.

The West Indies also extended their poor away form when Pakistan whitewashed them in the three-match Fortune Trophy ODI series last week.

Williams said, however, that series along with the friendly match against a United Arab Emirates Select XI on Friday, had given the team valuable playing time.

"Every game is an experience and playing with a different opposition is even more useful for our team," said Williams, who played 11 Tests and 36 ODIs between 1988 and 1998.

"It's all about playing more games and benefitting from them. Friday's match was not the greatest but a good one to keep the guys going."

The West Indies won by 173 runs at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, the venue of the Fortune Trophy series.