Yorkshire fast bowlers Ryan Sidebottom and Chris Silverwood jetted off to the West Indies with England 'A' today and both have their own special reasons for wanting to be a smash hit in the Caribbean.

A successful tour - his first at this level - could put 23-year-old Sidebottom in the reckoning for a Test cap next summer when Pakistan and then Australia are the visitors.

Silverwood is also keen for a similar success story but at 27 he knows that his stuttering England career could fade into oblivion if he does not show some star quality in the West Indies.

Both bowlers struggled with injuries last season and both ended up having hernia operations, but happily the pair are fully fit again now.

They and their England 'A' colleagues have completed training in the indoor nets at Edgbaston after a week of "bonding" in the Lake District.

Sidebottom's left-arm swing bowling hit a purple match last mid-summer when he captured 22 first class wickets for Yorkshire in just four matches, including a sensational return of 11 for 43 against Kent at Headingley.

These performances earned Sidebottom his county cap in the match with Somerset at Scarborough but before he could receive it he was stretchered off the field with a hip and groin injury which abruptly ended his season.

By then, however, he had already attracted the attention of England boss Duncan Fletcher who considers him an outstanding prospect and he will be carefully monitoring Sidebottom's progress in the West Indies.

Silverwood has experienced several ups and down with England since making his Test debut in Zimbabwe in 1996-97.

Injury prevented him from playing in New Zealand later that winter and a year on he replaced the injured Darren Gough on the England tour of the West Indies but he never got beyond 12th man duties.

Further misfortunes continued to hinder his progress until he flew to South Africa as injury cover last winter and went on to play in four Tests, returning a career-best five for 91 in the fourth Test in Cape Town.

But a heel injury caused Silverwood to miss the first part of last season with Yorkshire and after that he then never really found his rhythm before a groin strain forced him to miss the last few matches.

"I was able to start bowling again three weeks' ago and now I just want to stay injury-free," said Silverwood.

"Obviously this tour is a massive thing for me and I want to do well enough to push my way back into the full England side next summer."