Jacobs and Lawson out of second Test

Ridley Jacobs and Jermaine Lawson will miss West Indies' second Test against Australia, which starts on Saturday (April 19). Dr. Terry Ali, a member of the West Indies Cricket Board's medical panel, has ruled that Jacobs needs more time to recover from his groin strain, while Lawson has been diagnosed with chicken pox.

"Ridley will remain in Trinidad for a few days to start rehabilitative work before he returns to his native Antigua on Saturday," said Ricky Skerritt, manager of the West Indies team. "Jermaine will return home on Wednesday and we hope that he will recover in time for the third Test in Barbados."

Jacobs's unavailability ensures that Jamaica's 20-year-old Carlton Baugh will make his Test debut. Tino Best, Barbados's leading wicket-taker this season - his 39 scalps have come at just 18.25 - has been named as Lawson's replacement.

Among the other changes in the 14-man squad were the inclusion of Ramnaresh Sarwan and 20-year-old offspinner Omari Banks. If the recall of Sarwan, who has recovered from a fractured finger in his left hand, was not surprising, then the continued omission of Chris Gayle was. Gayle was left out of the squad for the Guyana Test after he opted to play in a double-wicket competition rather than the Carib Beer Series final. His continued exclusion indicates that despite comments to the contrary, he is still very much out of favour with the selectors.

The inclusion of Banks is a reward for a solid first-class season in which he took 25 wickets at 36.40 and scored 270 runs at 33.75 for the Leeward Islands. He is the first cricketer from Anguilla to be picked for a senior West Indies side.

West Indies squad: Wavell Hinds, Devon Smith, Daren Ganga, Brian Lara (capt), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels, Carlton Baugh (wk), David Bernard, Omari Banks, Vasbert Drakes, Mervyn Dillon, Pedro Collins, Tino Best.