Lara leads full strength Windies

Brian Lara has been retained as captain of a full strength West Indian ODI squad which heads to Australia to compete in January's VB Tri-Series. Following fierce contract disputes, the naming of the squad inspires a sigh of relief as far as the cricket world is concerned.

The tour has been made possible as the WICB has arranged that the full matter be postponed somewhat until the VB series is complete. As such, a compromise was arrived at for the best interest of the game.

The Champions Trophy winners do not pose a squad with any genuine surprises, with the possible exception of 18-year-old Xavier Marshall. The Jamaican phenom has impressed heavily at the junior international level and recently starred in the regional President's Cup. He has scored 315 runs in 8 List-A innings at an average of 45 and with a highest score of 125 not out.

Reon King makes his way back into maroon, as he has been recalled for the first time since the 2001 tour of Kenya. The 29-year-old fast bowler has suffered many injuries over recent years, adversely affecting a very promising start to his international career. King, however, managed to return to some form in the 2004 President's Cup and claimed 11 wickets at 22.54 each in 7 matches. In his ODI career, King has taken 73 wickets at an average of 23.23 and an economy rate of 4.09.

Also recalled is allrounder Marlon Samuels. Samuels has been out of cricket with injury since late 2003, but returned for the President's Cup and averaged 28.40 and 18 with the bat and ball respectively. In 53 One Day Internationals to date, Samuels has score 1412 runs (32.83 average) and taken 34 wickets (36.44 average).

The rest of the squad is quite predictable. Corey Collymore misses out due to injury concerns, but Ian Bradshaw, Mervyn Dillon and Pedro Collins have been included. Ryan Hinds and Dwayne Bravo fill allrounder spots in the team and Sarwan, Gayle, Chanderpaul and Wavell Hinds back Lara in a strong batting lineup. Doing the wicketkeeping duties is Courtney Browne.

Ricardo Powell and Dwayne Smith miss out after disappointing performances of late.

A notable point is the naming of Shivnarine Chanderpaul as vice-captain ahead of Ramnaresh Sarwan.

West Indies VB Squad:
BC Lara (captain)
S Chanderpaul (vice-captain)
CO Browne (wicketkeeper)
RR Sarwan
CH Gayle
RO Hinds
WW Hinds
RD King
IDR Bradshaw
XM Marshall
M Dillon
PT Collins
DJJ Bravo
MN Samuels

Posted by Liam