Windies stars to England
The West Indies have assured England that all their top players will be available for the tour in May despite their contracts with the IPL.
There have been fears the hastily-arranged two-Test tour would be turned into a farce because the leading Caribbean players, including captain
Chris Gayle and star batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, have commitments in India.
Gayle, Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo have contracts with IPL franchises and fast bowlers Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor, playing in the current Test, are expected to be snapped up in tomorrow’s auction for the new season.
The next IPL season runs until late May by which time the Test series in England will be over, but West Indies Cricket Board chief executive Dr Donald Peters said: “Our players are always there for Test matches.
“If England’s star players come back from India then so will ours. We will have a full-strength team in England.”
Our players are always there for Test matches
Peters’ words will be welcomed by the ECB, their sponsors and Sky TV, who were all fearing a low-key one-sided series to launch what is expected to be a dramatic summer culminating in the Ashes.
England have given their contracted players permission to play for the first three weeks of the IPL, which will see them return five days before the first Test on May 6. Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff and Paul Collingwood are expecting to earn contracts in the IPL auction.
The complication for the West Indies is that their players signed up for their IPL teams not expecting to have any international commitments this May.
The West Indies stepped into the breach after Zimbabwe were blocked from touring by the British government.
Dr Peters said: “We have to discuss this with our players, but I am sure they will all be in England.”
What has strengthened the board’s hand is that their players picked up $1million each by winning the Stanford Series against England in November, which will soften the blow of any lost IPL earnings.