Boycott on,WI string together secondary team

Tino Best,Darren Sammy and Floyd Reifer were not who Bangladesh were expecting to play in the first Test against the West Indies starting on Thursday at Arnos Vale.

Tino Best,Darren Sammy and Floyd Reifer were not who Bangladesh were expecting to play in the first Test against the West Indies starting on Thursday at Arnos Vale. After the entire 13-man West Indies squad,led by captain Chris Gayle,announced on Tuesday they were boycotting the home series against the Bangladeshis following a contract dispute,the West Indies Cricket Board scurried to put together a new team in less than 48 hours.

The WICB managed to summon former Test players Best,Sammy,Floyd Reifer and Dave Bernard Jr.,some from the West Indies A side which drew with Bangladesh in a three-day match last weekend,and some from the regional under-19 tournament. But Bangladesh werent impressed.

Reifer,two weeks shy of his 37th birthday,played the last of his four Tests in January 1999 but enjoyed a prolific 2009 regional season as captain of Combined Colleges and Campuses. Off-spinner Ryan Austin,all-rounder Andre Creary and fast bowlers Kemar Roach,Kevin McClean and Nelon Pascal appeared last weekend for West Indies A,and coming from the under-19 tournament in Jamaica was Barbados 16-year-old batting prodigy Kraigg Brathwaite.

We want to play the first team, Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza said on Wednesday. We would like to play against Chris Gayle,(Shivnarine) Chanderpaul and others. We want to play them because we can learn so many things when those guys are batting or bowling.

Although 11 of the new 15-man squad trained with West Indies coach John Dyson on Wednesday,there was no official confirmation of the squad or the captain. Dyson tried to put a positive spin on the situation. Well just have to do our best,wont we. (Its exciting to) see new players with new opportunities. For a lot of these players this is a huge opportunity to showcase their skills. It will be exciting to see how they actually grasp that opportunity and show the Caribbeans that they are here and ready to play.

Dyson admitted he was disappointed not to be able to lead the senior players he has worked with since taking over as coach in November 2007. I think we were working towards certain goals with the other players and its a little disappointing not to be able to continue that work because I think we did do some good things during that time, he said.

Gayle says sorry to fans

Meanwhile,West Indies captain Chris Gayle said on his twitter feed: Heading home. Sorry to all cricket fans. This is the last thing we wanted to happen to the game. (We) need respect and stop taking us for granted.

Rain plays spoilsport

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Meanwhile,rain played spoilsport on the opening day of the first Test here. Bangladesh won the toss and decided to bat but only 14 overs play was possible before a persistent drizzle forced the covers back. Tamim Iqbal was batting on 14 while Imrul Kayes was unbeaten on 21 as the visitors managed 36 for no loss in 14 overs. The West Indies are being led by veteran left-hander Floyd Reifer.

The Squads

West Indies: Ryan Austin,Dave Bernard Jr.,Tino Best,Kraigg Brathwaite,Andre Creary,Travis Dowlin,Kevin McClean,Nikita Miller,Nelon Pascal,Omar Phillips,Floyd Reifer,Dale Richards,Kemar Roach,Darren Sammy,Chadwick Walton.

Bangladesh: Mashrafe Mortaza (captain),Mohammad Ashraful,Shakib-al-Hasan,Shahdat Hossain,Tamim Iqbal,Mahbubul Alam,Raqibul Hasan,Rubel Hossain,Mehrab Hossain Jr,Mahmudullah,Imrul Kayes,Junaid Siddique,Mushfiqur Rahim,Enamul Haque Jr,Sagbir Hossain.