Missing: WI captain in AIDS fight

THE NAME of the West Indies cricket captain was conspicuously missing among the Test skippers who have signed on in the fight against HIV and AIDS. It is not sure if the West Indies Cricket Board were aware of the move, which was done to coincide with World AIDS Day yesterday. At present a captain has not been named among the 25 players assembled in Barbados for a three-week camp ahead of the VB Series tri-nation tournament in Australia which also involves Pakistan. No one from West Indies was available to sign as the message was formulated during the recent dispute between the West Indies Cricket Board and the West Indies Players’ Association.

Up to the last Test series against England and the ensuing ICC Champions Trophy tournament, the Caribbean cricketers were led by Trinidad and Tobago’s Brian Lara. Lara was one of 16 players who reportedly did not sign the invitation letter to attend the camp under new West Indies coach Bennett King in a row involving personal endorsement contracts. However he is widely expected to be named captain for the upcoming one-day tournament for which the regional team leaves on December 29. The International Cricket Council (ICC) stated in a press release that there was no signing from a West Indies captain but the WICB endorsed the initiative.  “The West Indies did not have a captain at the time of World Aids Day 2004, but the West Indies Cricket Board has pledged their  full support to the  initiative,” the ICC release stated.

The statement was signed by Ricky Ponting of Australia, Habibul Bashar of Bangladesh, Michael Vaughan of England, India’s Sourav Ganguly, Stephen Fleming of New Zealand, Inzamam-ul-Haq of Pakistan, Graeme Smith of South Africa, Sri Lanka’s Marvan Atapattu and Tatenda Taibu of Zimbabwe. “HIV and AIDS is a global issue that cannot be ignored,” reads the statement. “There are over 40 million people around the world living with HIV and AIDS. Over a third of these live in the ten countries that play Test match cricket. HIV and AIDS is everyone’s problem and it is the responsibility of us all to do something about it. “Our commitment is to address this epidemic by raising awareness and education levels in the cricket community. We urge young people to protect themselves from HIV and our leaders to pay more attention to the epidemic.

“When we step onto the cricket field we do so as rivals, but in the battle against HIV and AIDS we are united. AIDS is a common enemy and we must fight it together.” The Barbados cricket team has started their own campaign about HIV and AIDS awareness with the local committee. During their practice sessions, they carry a huge banner of the message of the illness and Barbados skipper and West Indies keeper Courtney Browne has been part of the local campaign.  Ehsan Mani, president of the International Cricket Council, welcomed the support for HIV/AIDS. Players and officials participating in international matches today will wear red ribbons, which is a sign of solidarity with all those around the world having to cope with AIDS.