Doubts over West Indies A-team tour

Confusion surrounds the proposed West Indies A tour of Sri Lanka - although Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have announced full details of the itinerary, a spokesman for the West Indies board (WICB) said that the series had yet to be confirmed.

Earlier this week, SLC named a 14-man squad for the two four-day unofficial Tests and five one-day matches due to start on June 23. But in an interview with the Barbados-based Nation, Zorol Barthley, the WICB's operations officer, said negotiations were not finished.

"The tour has not been finalised," he explained. "The dates have changed and have constantly been changing. There have been ongoing discussions. Like anything else, you just need to make sure from both ends you have covered the objectives."

The A-team tour is scheduled to precede the visit of the senior side to play two Tests and a tri-nations one-day tournament, also involving India.

"There has been talk of this tour for quite a while," Barthley continued. "We know where all the players are. There has been contact. Once things are finalised, the relevant people will be informed."

And Barthley added that it was hoped that the tour, if it goes ahead, would be the start of more regular A-team series. "We are in the process of talking to all the international bodies. We're exchanging and trying to come up with an a calendar among ourselves as how it will be of mutual benefit."