West Indies send out invitations for Australian tour

Brian Lara: West Indies selectors hope he is available for the impending Australia tour © Getty Images Enlarge

The West Indies cricket selectors have asked 30 players to make themselves available for the forthcoming tour to Australia. The letters of invitation were accompanied by the draft match/tour contract that the players would be required to sign if selected.

The players accepting the invitation are required to sign the letter and return it to the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) by September 19.

But the long-running dispute between a number of the players and the WICB remains unresolved, and sources have told Cricinfo that there has been little attempt on the board's part to find a solution. This means that yet again there is the possibility of key players refusing to sign the tour contracts.

The squad will assemble on September 24 in Barbados for training and they will then play a four-day game starting on September 27. "The players would have had no other cricket apart from one-day tournaments including the President's Cup prior to their departure for the Test series," Tony Howard, the team manager explained. "Therefore that practice game is very necessary to get them in tune for what's ahead."

Six Trinidad and Tobago cricketers, including Brian Lara, Dwayne Bravo, Daren Ganga, Lendl Simmons, Denesh Ramdin and Dave Mohammed have been included in the squad. Also in the 30 invited were Jermaine Lawson, who was recently given the go-ahead to bowl after his action was again questioned, and Carlton Baugh Jr, the young wicketkeeper.

The tour commences with a four-day match against a Queensland XI, before the first match of the three-Test series begins on November 3.

West Indies squad Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Wavell Hinds, Brian Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Denesh Ramdin, Daren Ganga, Dwayne Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Dave Mohammed, Sylvester Joseph, Ryan Hinds, Runako Morton, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Smith, Devon Smith, Narsingh Deonarine, Carlton Baugh jnr, Omari Banks, Xavier Marshall, Pedro Collins, Corey Collymore, Jermaine Lawson, Tino Best, Fidel Edwards, Ian Bradshaw, Deighton Butler, Daren Powell, Dwight Washington, Jerome Taylor.