West Indian trio will feature in Australia Tests

Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul are expected to be available for the whole of West Indies' home Test series against Australia, after Donald Peters, the West Indies board chief executive, confirmed the players would only be cleared for the Indian Premier League (IPL) between the visits of Sri Lanka and Australia.

There were doubts over the trio's availability for the first two Tests against Australia as they clashed with the IPL tournament. Peters had earlier admitted he would clear the players for the IPL, perhaps due to fears of a mass exodus to the unsanctioned Indian Cricket League.

But at the meeting of the ICC's executive board this week the IPL gave Full Member countries the right to veto any player's participation in the league and made No Objection Certificates mandatory from the respective national boards.

The decision seems to have strengthened the West Indies Cricket Board's hand. "Our best players have a responsibility to value their commitment to West Indies cricket and the West Indian public ahead of any relationship they have with the IPL," Peters said. "We fully expect them to be ready to play against Australia in all Test and ODI matches."

On Tuesday, John Dyson, the West Indies coach, called on the IPL to ensure that national team commitments would be given priority.