Big guns missing!
... Lara, Sarwan, Gayle left out of Windies squad for Sri Lanka tour |
CMC, AP
Saturday, July 02, 2005
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| SARWAN. former vice-captain |
ST JOHN'S, Antigua - West Indies have put together a motley collection of players for their tour of Sri Lanka after protracted contractual negotiations between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) broke down.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul, whose 86 Tests and 175 ODIs make him head and shoulders the most experienced member of the squad, has been handed the task of leading a bunch of players of whom three have absolutely no experience in senior international cricket, four have never played a Test, and the rest have played 10 Tests or less.
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| GAYLE. hard-hitting opening batsman |
In the process, the selectors omitted former captain Brian Lara, currently rated the number one batsman in the world, as well as rising batting stars Ramnaresh Sarwan and Christopher Gayle and most of the region's leading players.
This after the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) couldn't agree on guaranteed fees from sponsor Digicel.
Of an original squad of thirteen named by the selectors, just under two weeks ago, only the 30-year-old Chanderpaul, who captained the team in the recent home series against South Africa and Pakistan, fast bowler Daren Powell and rookie wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin are included.
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| LARA. currently rated the number one batsman in the world |
The players missing from that squad are: batsmen Lara, Gayle, Sarwan, Wavell Hinds, and Devon Smith; plus fast bowlers Fidel Edwards, Corey Collymore, Pedro Collins and Ian Bradshaw, and all-rounder Dwayne Bravo.
The negotiations between the WICB and WIPA failed on the issue of sponsorship guaranteed fees, although the parties are said to have settled their differences about binding arbitration on certain terms and conditions in the Match/Tour contracts offered by the board.
WIPA had requested a guaranteed fee of US$150,000, but the WICB only agreed to pay US$50,000.
The WICB said it had received the signed acceptance of the 14 players, who had been invited on the advice of the selection panel, and the latest invitations were accompanied by Match/Tour contracts that all 14 players accepted and signed.
"We have a responsibility to Sri Lanka, India and the International Cricket Council to honour the agreement for this Test series and three-nation limited-overs international competition, and we will do all in our power to meet that commitment," said the WICB's CEO Roger Brathwaite in a WICB news release late on Thursday.
"The Board had indicated to WIPA, last October, at the time of the discussions prior to the VB Series in Australia that its demands in relation to sponsorship fees were highly unreasonable and unsustainable given the level of sponsorship which the WICB has with team sponsor, Digicel.
"The WICB cannot afford this latest demand by WIPA for US$150,000 given the level of sponsorship fees already paid for this year with the VB Series and the home series, and with another tour to Australia scheduled for later this year."
Eight of the players that will join Chanderpaul in Sri Lanka are from the West Indies A-Team already there.
Media reports had indicated that only two of the A-Team players - Tino Best and Kerry Jeremy - seemed willing to accept the WICB's offer, and the rest of the squad was going to stand in solidarity with the 10 senior team players who originally rejected the WICB's invitation.
A-Team members Narsingh Deonarine, Jermaine Lawson, Xavier Marshall, Runako Morton, Ryan Ramdass, and Dwayne Smith have all joined Best and Jeremy in signing up to stay on for the senior tour.
Three players who were plying their trade in the English leagues were summoned to higher duty. It meant recalls to the side for batsman Sylvester Joseph and off-spinning all-rounder Omari Banks, while the uncapped left-arm pacer Deighton Butler gets his first senior international tour.
West Indies are scheduled to play two Tests against Sri Lanka in Colombo (July 13 to 17) and Kandy (July 21 to 25), as well as a three-nation limited-overs international series with the hosts and India, starting on July 30.
Squad (with international experience in brackets):
Shivnarine Chanderpaul (captain, 86 Tests, 175 ODIs), Omari Banks (8 Tests, no ODIs), Tino Best (10 Tests, 6 ODIs), Deighton Butler (uncapped), Narsingh Deonarine (2 Tests), Kerry Jeremy (6 ODIs), Sylvester Joseph (2 Tests, 9 ODIs), Jermaine Lawson (10 Tests, 11 ODIs), Xavier Marshall (6 ODIs), Runako Morton (5 ODIs), Daren Powell (10 Tests, 6 ODIs), Ryan Ramdass (uncapped), Denesh Ramdin (uncapped), Dwayne Smith (6 Tests, 26 ODIs).
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