Jacobs to be paid after all

Yesterday the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) confirmed that suspended vice-captain and wicketkeeper, Ridley Jacobs, will be paid his tour fees after all. This, following a recent decision by Match Referee - Dennis Lindsay - that effectively ruled Jacobs out of the Second Test against Zimbabwe.

Jacobs, who was not originally selected for the Kenya leg of the current tour of Africa, was banned from participating in the Second Test following an incident during the recently concluded Coca-Cola triangular series.

The WICB, in a media release confirmed that: "West Indies Test cricketers who are asked to rest from tours by the selection committee will be paid their standard fees."

The WICB said that it wished to reaffirm this policy to distinguish between players who have been "dropped" and those who are being "rested". The selection committee will make this distinction when it advises the WICB of a team selection.

In the absence of a retainer system, the "resting" policy is designed to compensate players who have been representing the West Indies team for a sustained period without adequate rest and who deserve some respite in the best long-term interest of both themselves and West Indies cricket.

The management committee felt it was necessary to underline this policy in the light of the Selectors decision to rest West Indies vice-captain and wicketkeeper, Ridley Jacobs, for the Kenya tour. Jacobs has been playing almost non-stop cricket since 1998 and, in anticipation of the busy cricketing schedule later this year and in 2002, the selectors determined he should be rested for the Kenya tour.

The decision to name only one wicketkeeper for the tour of Africa almost back-fired earlier this week when Jacobs came down with what appeared to be early symptoms of the flu. Jacobs' replacement for the Kenya leg of the tour - Courtney Browne - arrives in Zimbabwe tonight. The Test series between West Indies and Zimbabwe begins tomorrow.