Lara in, Shiv out

Leeds: The West Indies got bad news and good yesterday.

They learned, after a scan, that Shivnarine Chanderpaul's arm injury, which has already put him out of the game for almost a month, had not responded to treatment as hoped and would need another two weeks rest and recuperation.

It eliminates him from the vital third Test against England, starting at Old Trafford, Manchester, next Thursday and, according to manager Ricky Skerritt, also puts him in doubt for the fourth at Headlingley, Leeds, August 17-21.

Chanderpaul has not even been able to practice since the Lord's Test July 3 and would not be yet fit enough for the only first-class match between third and fourth Test, sgainst Derbyshire, August 9 to August 11.

This setback was counter-balanced by Skerritt's confidence that, after acupuncture treatment yesterday, Brian Lara's strained right hamstring had eased sufficiently to clear him for the third Test.

Chanderpaul and Lara both saw the same specialist here yesterday to interpret scans on their injuries.

'Shiv's injury is akin to tennis elbow and the scan showed it wasn't responding to treatment and needed another two weeks of treatment and rest,' Skerritt said. 'We were hoping that it had made enough improvement that an injection would help speed the process but the doctor advised this was not feasible.'

Lara has been bothered by tightness in his hamstring for almost two weeks. He eventually favoured it by opting out of the last of preliminaries in the triangular NatWest Series One-Day tournament last Thursday and did not play against Yorkshire in the match won by the West Indies in two days on Tuesday.

Skerritt said Lara had felt resistance in the tendon area during stretching exercises. But he reported a significant amount of relief after acupuncture.

Lara joined Courtney Walsh and assistant coach Jeffrey Dujon to journey to London yesterday to join a host of present and recent past stars for a memorial match for the late Malcolm Marshall at the Honourable Artillery Company Ground in the heart of London.

Walsh and Dujon, both teammates of the great fast bowler throughout his career from 1982 to 1991, will play but Skerritt said Lara would not.

A decision had not yet been made on whether he should be included for the three-day match against Leicestershire at Leicester, starting tomorrow, the last prior to the Test.

Chanderpaul injured his arm while topscoring with 73 in the only West Indies innings in their first Test victory at Edgbaston June 16.

It followed centuries in his two previous matches, against Worcestershire and Zimbabwe, form that prompted his forced and illadvised inclusion in the second Test when he was clearly not ready.

His absence will obviously weaken the already brittle West Indies batting. His dependability has brought him an average of 40.65 from 44 Tests since his debut as a 19-year-old in 1994.

It is an opportunity for Ramnaresh Sarwan, his fellow Guyanese whose encouraging, unbeaten 86 on Test debut against Pakistan in Barbados in May has not been followed by the anticipated consistency on this tour, his first with the senior team.

The stylish 20-year-old right-hander's seven first-class innings have yielded a disappointing average of 26.57 and only one half-century.

His class has been evident almost every time he has batted but too often he has been out to a slack stroke.

Perhaps he has been given the impression that he is merely here to learn rather than to be a genuine candidate for a Test place.

His mind should now be concentrated by Chanderpaul's misfortune and the realisation that very serious business lies ahead for him and the West Indies.