England (CMC)

Embattled West Indies captain Chris Gayle has once again blamed the cold, blustery English conditions for his side's wretched display in the second Test.

West Indies, seeking a win in order to level the series, collapsed to 176 all out in their second innings yesterday to lose by an innings and 83 runs.

"They were very testing conditions and playing cricket in these sorts of conditions is a really, really big challenge for us," Gayle said after the embarrassing loss at the Riverside Ground.

"It's not about the ball nipping around. We all expect the ball to do something here in England, whether it's cold or not. And sometimes in the fielding department it's really, really hard to go out there with your hands burning, which made it difficult to catch.

"In the batting department, it's hard to concentrate for a long period of time in this cold - no doubt about it," he added.

surendered loss

With the loss, West Indies surrendered the Wisden Trophy they had won just 69 days earlier in the Caribbean with a 1-0 series triumph.

In similar conditions last week, West Indies were beaten by 10 wickets inside three days in the first Test at Lord's.

Gayle, who struggled in the series, conceded that while the weather was trying, his side needed to take responsibility for their second-rate performance.

"I'm not finding too many excuses - they were difficult conditions. But at the same time, I'm happy we actually gained some experience out of this," Gayle pointed out.

"We played poor cricket and, when we had our chances, we didn't make the best use of it and England capitalised on it."