Howard upbeat despite glaring omissions

Brian Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle are among the big-name absentees from West Indies' squad to face Sri Lanka in the forthcoming Test series, but Tony Howard, the team manager, is hoping that his young and inexperienced cricketers will rise to the occasion.

"We have a very good and exciting team on tour here and we expect them to come good individually for West Indies," said Howard at a media conference in Colombo. "These young men have been asked to replace the senior players but sometimes we realise the senior players are also junior players. Now we have a new crop of players looking to stamp their authority on the game of cricket."

Negotiations are currently taking place between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the Players' Association to end the bitter contracts dispute that has brought the game to its knees in the Caribbean, but Howard admitted that the possibility of any other players joining the squad now was very remote.

"Like every other player on tour here you have the option to choose if you want to participate or not," said Howard. "That is you make a decision on your future. Whether or not it is the end of the road for the senior players, only they can decide that." The WICB picked six players from the Caribbean and added eight others from the West Indies A team currently touring Sri Lanka, to make up a 14-man squad, captained by Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

Howard was philosophical about the impact that the impasse would have. "Like any other aspect of life cricket evolves," he said. "If you check our history you will find out it has happened time and time again with every international team. I certainly remember the time when it happened during the Packer series and out of that came Malcolm Marshall, Sylvester Clarke and players like that.

"I have absolutely no doubt that you are going to find a similar occurrence here. This is just another stage of evolution of cricket in the Caribbean. I think out of this will come better than senior players."

Despite his team's inexperience, Howard denied that the series would be a cakewalk for Sri Lanka. "A Test match is a competition between two teams. As you know cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties. Anybody can win. Sometimes the toss makes the difference, on other occasions it is a brilliant innings or a great spell of bowling. It depends on who is best on the day."

Bennett King, West Indies' coach, said the whole side was focusing on solutions not problems. "We are trying to keep moving forward. We've been trying to focus on the present and absorb the moment that we have got together and that we are here. That's what is important."

Chanderpaul was equally upbeat, and cited the talents of a new generation of Caribbean cricketers. "We have a group of young, new and exciting players like Xavier Marshall, Ryan Ramdass, Narasingh Deonarine and Tino Best who are keen and ready to play Test cricket. I know they are capable of doing the job. This is a good opportunity for them to make a name for themselves. I don't have much to worry about."