Exclusive: Ramdin in Retainer List

Neophyte wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin is among eight West Indies cricketers that will be offered an annual retainer contract by the WICB.

Ramdin, 21, is the youngest player in a list that was put together after the West Indies selectors used a scoring system to rate the region's top cricketers.

The highly-rated Trinidadian stormed onto the scene in his debut series against Sri Lanka in 2005 but has hit a bad patch recently, struggling for runs and making crucial errors behind the stumps.

In 8 tests, he averages 24.00 and has effected 21 dismissals. In 14 ODIs, Ramdin has 17 dismissals and a batting average of 33.00.

According to a source, 10 players scored above the required rating to qualify for a retainer contract but, because of the WICB's financial difficulties, only 8 will be offered contracts in the first year.

The plan is to add players concurrent with an improvement in the WICB's financial position, the source said.

The initial list reads:

1. Brian Lara - 124 Tests, 270 ODIs
2. Shiv Chanderpaul - 94 Tests, 191 ODIs
3. Ramnaresh Sarwan - 59 Tests, 102 ODIs
4. Chris Gayle - 57 Tests, 138 ODIs
5. Fidel Edwards - 23 Tests, 19 ODIs
6. Corey Collymore - 19 Tests, 69 ODIs
7. Dwayne Bravo - 12 Tests, 43 ODIs
8. Denesh Ramdin - 8 Tests, 14 ODIs

The legal language of the contracts is still being cleaned up and the contracts are expected to be offered within weeks. The players are not mandated to accept the contracts.