Lara, Gayle, Sarwan in WI 30

Big names Brian Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle have been included in a provisional squad of 30 for the upcoming West Indies tour of Australia. The WICB still awaits the signing of contracts however, an issue which has been at the forefront of West Indian cricket woes of late.

Contract disputes having raged on since late 2004, prior to the West Indies team’s participation in the VB Series in early 2005. Roughly a year later, the threat remains for the disputes to continue with no clear resolution in sight. Earlier this year, the West Indies sent a weak reserve team to Sri Lanka for a 2-0 Test defeat. The squad will expectedly assemble in Barbados on September 24th to begin training.

Trinidad and Tobago batsman Lendl Simmons is the lone new name in the squad. The 20-year-old nephew of former West Indies allrounder Phil Simmons earns his first call to West Indies senior notice, having represented the region at youth levels.

The tour begins in late October, with the first Test match starting on November 3rd.

The provisional 30:
Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Wavell Hinds
Brian Lara
Ramnaresh Sarwan
Chris Gayle
Denesh Ramdin
Daren Ganga
Dwayne Bravo
Lendl Simmons
Dave Mohammed
Sylvester Joseph
Ryan Hinds
Runako Morton
Marlon Samuels
Dwayne Smith
Devon Smith
Narsingh Deonarine
Carlton Baugh jnr
Omari Banks
Xavier Marshall
Pedro Collins
Corey Collymore
Jermaine Lawson
Tino Best
Fidel Edwards
Ian Bradshaw
Deighton Butler
Daren Powell
Dwight Washington
Jerome Taylor