Cricket: Rose replaces Ambrose

CURTLY AMBROSE will miss the West Indies' tour of New Zealand, which begins next month, because of continuing injury worries.

In announcing a 16-man squad for the two-Test tour, the West Indies Cricket Board recalled Franklyn Rose but decided that Ambrose was not fit enough. "Having sustained an injury on the tour to Sharjah, [Ambrose] could not return to full fitness in time for the tour," the WICB said in its statement.

Rose was not considered for selection for the World Cup because he had not settled an outstanding hotel bill from the troubled tour of South Africa.

He was also omitted from one-day tournaments in Singapore, Canada, Bangladesh and Sharjah but, with Ambrose not selected, Rose joins the veteran Courtney Walsh, Mervyn Dillon, Reon King and the left-armer Pedro Collins in a five-pronged pace attack.

Squad: B C Lara (capt), S L Campbell, A F G Griffith, S Chanderpaul, J C Adams, W W Hinds, R Powell, R D Jacobs, N O Perry, C A Walsh, P T Collins, M Dillon, D Ramnarine, R D King, F A Rose, D Ganga.