Lara’s absence opens door for youngsters

BRIDGETOWN: The absence of former captain Brian Lara and other top players from the West Indies squad to face South Africa later this week opens the door for the emergence of young cricketers, team manager Tony Howard said yesterday. Howard said the players selected to face South Africa are “geared up and ready to face the challenge.” “They are quite excited, actually. We have been training from early morning to late in the day so we have been putting in a lot of hard work,” Howard said. “We are trying to build a unit of players who will work together.”

The West Indies Cricket Board has disqualified seven of the leading West Indies players, including Lara, Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Fidel Edwards and Dwayne Bravo. All seven were originally deemed ineligible because their endorsement contracts with Cable and Wireless conflicted with the WICB’s official sponsor and telecommunications rival Digicel. Lara was later invited back but refused to sign up unless the others were also allowed to return. The dispute has given the opportunity for rookies Narsingh Deonarine, Donovan Pagon and Dwight Washington, who have never worn West Indies colours before. “I always look forward to a challenge and the players will approach the challenge with confidence. Some factors are missing, but we are looking at things in the long term,” Howard said.

The West Indies team has been at a training camp in Barbados since Thursday under the guidance of coach Bennett King. The team leaves Barbados this evening for the first Test in Guyana where they play South Africa beginning March 31. The players have done light swimming in the pool in the mornings, followed by a net session until early evening. Afterward, they return to their hotel for a strategy session using videos, Howard said. South Africa, in the meantime, arrived in the Caribbean on Thursday, touching down in Antigua without their experienced former skipper Shaun Pollock. Pollock will miss the first Test as he undergoes treatment on an ankle injury in Durban.

Squad: Shivnarine Chanderpaul (capt), Courtney Browne (v/capt), Devon Smith, Wavell Hinds, Daren Ganga, Narsingh Deonarine, Ryan Hinds, Daren Powell, Dwight Washington, Pedro Collins, Corey Collymore, Reon King, Donovan Pagon.