Bleak start for West Indies

The West Indies tour of England got off to a wet start on Saturday as the first day of their match against Sussex was washed out.

The West Indies tour of England got off to a wet start on Saturday as the first day of their match against Sussex was washed out.

While that was a source of disappointment for the tourists, it also brought relief since they only had 11 fit players available for the three-day clash.

Of the four squad members who were unavailable, fast bowler Fidel Edwards is the biggest concern as he battles a back "niggle".

Edwards missed the third Test against Australia with back trouble, which is something he has a history of – back surgery ruled him out for an entire year in 2010.

Meanwhile Guyanese pair Narsingh Deonarine and Assad Fudadin are in Jamaica, awaiting visa clearance to travel, while Marlon Samuels is expected to arrive later in the weekend from his stint with the Pune Warriors in the Indian Premier League.

"We have 12 guys here right now, and I think the other three are coming in later this evening," said captain Darren Sammy.

"It's a little bit to do with visas. They're going to be here, and they're not missing anything right now.

"We've not named our XI. They're batsmen, so they could come in and play straightaway."

Edwards will not play any part in the match against Sussex, and is a doubt for the clash with England Lions at Northampton.

"Fidel is still carrying a niggle. The physio is going to monitor him and give him some more time to recover," Sammy confirmed.

"It's not bad. We came here knowing Fidel would be rested for this game; he was rested for the last match. Come the 17th, everybody will be ready.

"Fidel is somebody I know what to expect from. I know what he's going to give and whenever he plays will be ready. Last time he played a game at Lord's he was very unlucky – a few catches went down – and I know he's going to give us 100%, just like all my team-mates.

"Whether he plays the Lions game or not, I know when that bell rings on the 17th, he will be ready. He'll be the first one to say 'give me the ball'.

"It will be up to Fidel himself to say how he feels, and what the physio recommends."

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