Depleted West Indies rob series of lustre

The Test series between Sri Lanka and West Indies, the first international cricket to be played on the island since the tsunami disaster, has lost much of its lustre as the West Indies will be fielding a depleted side, and elicited a strong response from the media and the cricketers involved. The series, which begins on Wednesday in Colombo, will not feature Brian Lara, Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Fidel Edwards, among others, as they were left out in the aftermath of the contract impasse.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the West Indies captain, is the only player in a squad that includes six debutants to have played more than 10 Tests. "Chanderpaul and his cricketing babes face what appears to be a mission impossible," Tony Cozier, the West Indian broadcaster, told AFP. He described the contracts issue as "a senseless and self-defeating squabble" and added, "The players are inexperienced and unprepared for the sudden challenge that has come their way."

Marvan Atapattu, the Sri Lankan captain, was disappointed that the West Indies were without their star players. He acknowledged the importance of the series in the light of the recovery after the tsunami. "Cricket was the last thing on our minds in December, but now we are keen to get on with the game," he said, referring to the Sri Lankan tour of New Zealand that was postponed in December 2004 and rescheduled to April 2005.

"It does not matter whether it is the first Test or the 150th, we have to do our best," said Atapattu. "The team will be motivated enough even though we are disappointed we will not be playing the best West Indian team."

The absence of Lara in particular will disappoint Sri Lankan fans who were enthralled when he plundered a mammoth 688 runs in the three Tests in 2001. His missing the series will deny him the chance of surpassing Allan Border as Test cricket's highest run-scorer. Lara, with 10,818 runs from 117 Tests, is just 356 runs short of Border's 11,174 from 156 matches.

However, there are other milestones to look forward to: The first Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club will mark Sri Lanka's 150th Test. Muttiah Muralitharan, the Sri Lankan offspinner who has 532 Test wickets, will return to international cricket after a shoulder injury sidelined him for 11 months. He will aim to close in on Shane Warne's world record of 583 wickets. It will also be Tom Moody's first assignment as the Sri Lankan coach.