West Indies delay squad announcement

West Indies have picked their squad for the forthcoming tour of Australia, but the drawn-out dispute over contracts has delayed its announcement until next week.

"The selectors, including myself, picked a team and sent it to the board," Bennett King, the coach, told reporters. "There are some matters to be dealt with, relating to some players." It is understood that 18 names were submitted to the board, including four reserves.

Although it is not apparent what is causing the current delay, Dinanath Ramnarine, the president of the West Indies Players' Association, indicated that some concerns still remained. "We agreed to attend the training camp. We also agreed to wear the Digicel clothing during the camp," he said. "But the players are entitled to be compensated for this, and while they won't be paid during the camp, we will negotiate their fees with the board ahead of the Australia tour and include it in the tour payments."

Adrian Saunders, who is Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, is the arbitrator of the dispute. His conclusions are expected to be released at the weekend.

King admitted that the recently-completed training camp and practice matches had been revealing. "The bowling is not as strong as we would like it to be," he told the Nation newspaper. "I would have preferred to see the fast bowlers being more consistent and penetrative." But he added that the coaching team was working with the players and there had already been progress. "We had a very good group of agile players who were eager to learn and improve their game. I believe this is the group of the future and we will be looking to impress in the VB Series."

He said that he was confident that the side had enough ability but now needed consistency. "Over the last year West Indies have shown they can beat the best sides in the world. For me, this is the beginning and I have certainly seen players who have the ability to do that. We now have to start doing it day in, day out."