West Indies, England face off
Published:Friday | April 3, 2009 | 9:18 AM
The fifth and final One-day International between West Indies and England in St Lucia will go ahead as scheduled today.
The Caribbean players threatened to boycott the game last week because of a row with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) over salaries.
However, captain Chris Gayle says the game will go ahead following talks with the players’ union and the WICB yesterday.
Gayle says the off-field issues will not deflect from his team’s motivation going into the match at the Beausejour Stadium.
The series is locked 2-2 after West Indies fell to a nine-wicket defeat under the Duckworth/Lewis Method in the rain-affected fourth One-day International on Sunday.
West Indies have made one change to their squad, drafting in left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn for the injured Jamaican spinner Nikita Miller.
England’s quest for a first-ever one-day series win in the Caribbean has been boosted by the availability of key players Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff.