Mark Wood felt England's bowlers tried a little too hard as they struggled to break down West Indies on day two of the first Test in Antigua.
England lost their final four wickets in relatively short order, though Jonny Bairstow reached 140 to take them past 300 for the first time since August 2021, and were then put on the backfoot by the hosts.
Kraigg Brathwaite (55) and John Campbell (35) put on 83 for the first wicket before England fought back to reduce the Windies to 127-4.
But, on a day truncated by rain, Jason Holder (43 not out) and Nkrumah Bonner (34 not out) reached stumps having put on an unbroken stand of 75 to push the Windies to 202-4, a deficit of 109 runs.
Bemoaning England's inability to make earlier inroads, Wood told Sky Sports News: "I don't think it's about being patient.
"We set higher standards than just being patient - we're out here to win and to play for England. If we're expecting in five or six Test matches' time that will be the answer, it won't.
"As can happen with any bowler, we just didn't get it right at the start and maybe we tried a bit too hard.
"With the void of [Jimmy] Anderson and [Stuart] Broad, maybe we wanted to try a bit hard and prove we can do it as a group.
"Maybe that was it, but I just don't think we started well and the way we came back I think showed good character as a group.
"We fielded well, we had good intensity there, so there were bits of play where I think we did really well.
"It's obviously going to be talked about, Anderson and Broad, because they are legends, but we just have to admit we didn't get it right to start with and we'll be out to get it right next time."
