Windies miss out on shirt sales

JOHANNESBURG - Where are the Windies shirts? That's the question being asked by cricket fans all around Johannesburg.

They have had no luck trying to get West Indies replica shirts during the ongoing World Cup. And the reason is the West Indies designs were never submitted to the official International Cricket Council's (ICC) shops so the items could be made and placed for sale.

"After South Africa, the West Indies is the most popular team around here," said a sales assistant at the ICC's souvenir shop in the Sandton City Centre. Every day we have been getting calls and people coming in wanting West Indies kit. But we were told their designs were never submitted."

The West Indies' popularity was evident when they were mobbed by autograph seekers when they spent Friday afternoon in the Sandton Centre, adjacent to their base at the Sandton Sun.

Only four teams - South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia - submitted designs and their items have been selling smoothly. Most Indian fans came with their replica shirts from previous tournaments.