In The Papers Today (Oct 6, 2005)

Brian Lara's performance in the first ICC Super Series one day match on Wednesday is the talk of the regional media.

Lara was the lone West Indies representative in the ICC World XI and in the field during the Australian innings he looked set to put in a stellar performance. The Trinidadian took two great catches, sending both Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson back to the pavilion.

Things soured for him when he went in to bat and was out for a second ball duck, caught by Andrew Symonds off the bowling of Nathan Bracken.

Both the Australian and ICC World XI sides have criticised the outfield at the Telstra Dome in Melbourne, venue for the match, which was so slippery that players were forced to trade their cricket spikes for football boots.

Tony Cozier weighs in on the 15-man squad selected for the West Indies' upcoming tour of Australia, writing that it was circulated on the Internet and regional radio as the media waited patiently for a press release from the West Indies Cricket Board.

Cozier finds the selection of Marlon Samuels and Dwayne Smith most eyebrow-raising and reckons that coach Bennett King advanced the selection of the two batsmen as a starting point to moulding a side in a similar vein to the way Duncan Fletcher has worked with England players like Andrew Flintoff.

The news of a full strength West Indies touring squad has caused Cricket Australia to breathe a sigh of relief, writes Trevor Marshallsea in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Marshallsea?s piece gives Australian readers a very brief glimpse into the West Indies contract dispute and records a Cricket Australia spokesman as saying, ?Test cricket should be about the best versus the best. With the West Indies being able to use the best talent available to them, they add up to a competitive unit, which should provide entertaining cricket to the public."

The Trinidad & Tobago Newsday reports that Ramnaresh Sarwan has been appointed vice captain for the month-long series in Australia which comprises three Tests, two practice matches and one Limited Overs game.

Mark Pouchet previews Trinidad & Tobago?s third KFC Cup match, saying that the situation going into Thursday?s match is ?must-win?. Manager Giles Antoine says the team?s performance to date has been unsatisfactory, especially the way wickets have fallen when the side has a strong batting order.

In the report, Pouchet reports that Dwayne Bravo missed the second round match after sustaining a lower back strain. Ahead of the meeting with the Leeward Islands, Antoine said, ?We are the defending champions and I hope everybody is really getting it in the back of their head."

Haydn Gill also previews round three KFC Cup matches, reporting that both Jamaica and Trinidad are going into their respective contests with Guyana and the Leeward Islands with their backs against wall, as they would be unlikely to claim Final Four berths following three consecutive losses.

Gill writes that Barbados will have Ryan Hinds back on the team after he missed the first two matches with an ear infection, and that Bravo and Denesh Ramdin will both be back for Trinidad & Tobago.

In the Jamaica Gleaner, freelance writer Anthony Foster previews Jamaica?s KFC Cup match against Guyana, quoting team manager Maurice Clark as saying, ?We hope that the instructions that were given by the technical department will be executed."

The paper also delights in announcing that five Jamaicans have made the squad for the West Indies tour of Australia.

The Jamaica Observer carries a CMC article which reports that Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board President Ellis Lewis is sceptical of R Allen Stanford's 20/20 tournament.

Lewis, who is a director on the West Indies Cricket Board, says that the WICB has not been approached to sanction or assist in the organisation of the tournament, leading him to speculate that Stanford may plan to operate in the same manner as Kerry Packer during the World Series. Packer picked the teams, bypassing the established cricket boards and resulting in unofficial squads.

Sean Devers, in the Kaiteur News, writes that Guyana KFC Cup squad coach Albert Smith was utterly disappointed with his players? performance after the round two tie against the Leeward Islands.

Devers notes that this was the third time Guyana had tied a match in the regional Limited Overs competition, the first being in 1993 against the Windward Islands at Albion and the second against Jamaica at Kaiser in 2001.

In the Antigua Sun, Marabel Jacobs reports that a prominent local businessman has responded enthusiastically to news of the Stanford 20/20 tournament.

Jacobs writes that Antiguan entrepreneur Philbert Mason has lauded Stanford and the ?Legends? of West Indies cricket for coming to the rescue of the sport in the Caribbean.

Also in the paper is a comment from Antigua & Barbuda Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer where the politician praised the concept saying, ?This effort by Allen will put us in a position to see the game of cricket in a new, exciting and dynamic way which is what the game needs at this time. It is a shot in the arm for the game and it will not only tap the cadre of young cricket talent in the region, but it will also place us in a good position for World Cup 2007?.

The West Indies Cricket Board Web site uses a CMC news story to announce the new sponsorship deal for the regional Limited Overs competition struck with Kentucky Fried Chicken, after it was announced elsewhere in the regional press and not via an official media release.

Given that the news comes via a CMC story, and that Media Watch received a press release earlier in the week from a Board employee other than the Communications Manager, we assume that Leonard Robertson has served his notice period and departed, and has not yet been replaced.

Virgin Net News carries a Cricket365.com article on former West Indies Cricket Board President Pat Rousseau criticising the Jamaican government?s decision to construct a stadium at Greenfield, Trelawny.

Rousseau claims that the government is wasting US$16 million dollars on the development, arguing that every other cricket ground in the country could be fixed with the same amount of money. He believes the stadium will be a white elephant once Cricket World Cup 2007 is completed, with the only practical use for the 30,000 capacity ground being international matches.