The change in outlook has been forced by the conditions the tourists expect in Sri Lanka during their nine-match tour.
``I've been here before about three years ago and from what I saw, I expect the wickets to be pretty slow and to turn quite a bit,'' said West Indies 'A' captain Roger Harper at a press conference held at the Cricket Board headquarters.
``We have got three back-of-the hand spinners with us in Rawl Lewis, Mahendra Nagamootoo and young Avidesh Samaroo, and myself. On the surfaces we will be playing, you will see a lot of them. They will play an important part on the tour,'' said Harper, who is an off-break bowler in addition to his all-round talents as a first-class batsman and outstanding fielder.
Samaroo at 18 years is the youngest member of the team and made his first-class debut this year for Trinidad and Tobago.
Apart from this spin quartet, the West Indies have also brought two experienced Test fast bowlers in Cameron Cuffy and Ottis Gibson.
``This tour is the stepping stone towards the senior team. I think each member will want to give his performance a showdown with every chance of getting back into the West Indies Test team. I am looking forward to having a good tour,'' said Harper.
Harper along with Cuffy, Gibson, Stuart Williams, Laurie Williams and Philo Wallace are those who have been in and out of the senior side.
``These are senior guys on tour, who will be looking to lead the team and guide it. We expect great things from them. There are quite a few youngsters as well. We hope they will perform and be- come household names in the future,'' said Harper.
The players are coming to Sri Lanka after taking part in the Shell one-day competition which concluded a week before. Harper said: ``We are quite fit and ready to go. It is just the matter of trying to adjust to the conditions over here''.
Manager Joel Garner said he didn't know the exact reasons why West Indies cricket had suffered a decline.
``Like everything else, life is a cycle. You go through phases. We had our days for 16-17 years. I can't think of a reason for the way things are happening now. We had a period of time when most of the senior players left. Now it is a case of preparing a side for the future,'' said the former giant fast bowler, who is on his first tour in the capacity as manager of a team.
This is the first time West Indies are sending an 'A' team on tour. Previously, only their under 19 sides have done so.
``For the next four years beginning with this tour, we will be concentrating on sending our 'A' sides to countries like South Africa and India with the intention of building teams for the future,'' he said.
Garner said the decision to come to Sri Lanka now and to forego the Wills World Cup match scheduled in February this year were decisions taken by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB). ``It had nothing to do with the players,'' he said.
Sri Lanka Cricket Board chief executive Dammika Ranatunga said the WICB decided to send its 'A' side after they were given a true picture of the situation prevailing in Sri Lanka when he met their officials at the July International Cricket Council meeting in London.
Sri Lanka 'A' coach Ranjit Fernando said that Sri Lanka 'A' should take full advantage of the opposition offered by West Indies 'A', who in his opinion have over the years been looking in terms of very positive approach to the game. ``It will help our cricketers to look at it from that point of view and take full advantage of it,'' he said.
``It is not only skill that goes into making a Test cricketer, but other areas like temperament and intelligence. There is no doubt players of both sides playing in this series are abundant with skill. Temperament and discipline that goes to make a positive looking aggressive Test cricketer is what we are looking at,'' said Fernando, has handed over the job to another former Sri Lanka cricketer Rumesh Ratnayake, because of his commitment as a TV commentator at next month's Sharjah tournament.
Ratnayake said the 'A' team has been undergoing the same training as the Sri Lanka side and was confident they would perform well in the coming series.
``We are ready to face the so-called giants of West Indies. Our chances of beating them are quite good,'' he said.