Lara left out of West Indian squad

Brian Lara has been left out of the West Indian squad that was chosen for the first Test against South Afica, beginning in Guyana on March 31. In a decision that is bound to trigger off shock and criticism, the West Indies board said that Lara gave a non-committal response to their invitation to make himself available for the match, in which he neither accepted nor rejected the offer.

In his response, Lara put a proposition to the board regarding players he wanted to be selected, but that could't be entertained because it would have meant selecting players who were ineligible due to the nature of their personal endorsement contracts.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul was appointed the captain of the side while Courtney Browne was named as his deputy. Chanderpaul had been the vice-captain of the side during the VB Series in Australia and has led Guyana since 2003. The squad have a camp in Barbados from March 23 before leaving for Guyana on March 28.

Squad
Wavell Hinds, Devon Smith, Donavon Pagon, Daren Ganga, Shivnarine Chanderpaul (capt), Narsingh Deonarine, Ryan Hinds, Courtney Browne (wk, vice-capt), Corey Collymore, Pedro Collins, Dwight Washington, Daren Powell, Jerome Taylor, Reon King.