Skipper Chris Gayle and his team say they will not face Bangladesh

First Test, St Vincent: West Indies v Bangladesh
Date: 9-13 July Scheduled start: 1500 BST
Coverage: Reports on the BBC website and mobiles

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Skipper Chris Gayle and his team say they will not face Bangladesh

West Indies are likely to field a second-string team for the first Test against Bangladesh on Thursday because of continuing contract disputes.

The West Indies Players' Association (Wipa) said its members were no longer prepared to play without contracts.

Players from the Under-19 squad as well as Darren Sammy, Tino Best and Floyd Reifer have been flown to St Vincent.

The West Indies Cricket Board said it would announce the team late because of fears about intimidation of players.

"We are playing a Test match in a St Vincent against Bangladesh that is all I can say," said WICB president Julian Hunte.

Hunte declined to comment on the recruitment of players but said there had been a lot of intimidation.

Experienced batsman Dale Richards and the relatively unknown Travis Dowlin, Nelon Pascal, wicketkeeper Chadwick Walton, Ryan Austin, Omar Phillips, Kraigg Brathwaite and Kevin McLean are also rumoured to be in the 13-man squad.

Bangladesh are scheduled to play two Tests, three one-dayers and a Twenty20 international on their four-week tour.

The Tigers are hopeful the series will proceed, however, after stating they had not been told of any cancellation.

"It is a very much an internal affair of the West Indies," said Bangladesh Cricket Board spokesman Jalal Yunus.

"They did not inform us of anything yet, so we assume that the series will go ahead as planned.

"However, we have seen the reports in the media and expressed our concerns to the team management. They talked to match referee, who assured them the match would go ahead."

The WICB threatened strike action during England's tour of the Caribbean in March.

It is also in dispute with the board over payments and fees for the tour of England in May, the Twenty20 World Cup and the recent four-match ODI home series against India.

In a statement on the Wipa website, Ramnarine claimed: "We have made every effort since our meeting (with the WICB) in April to have the matters agreed upon honoured and those that were still to be agreed upon resolved in an amicable way.

Sorry to all the cricket fans. This is the last thing we want to happen to the game. West Indies captain Chris Gayle

"The fact remains the players have played their last four tournaments without a contract.

"They are now being asked to play their fifth consecutive series without a contract, which is highly unacceptable."

West Indies captain Chris Gayle said on his Twitter feed: "Heading home. Sorry to all the cricket fans. This is the last thing we want to happen to the game. Need respect and stop taking us for granted."

In 2005, 10 West Indies players, including captain Brian Lara, boycotted the tour of Sri Lanka. That time the row between the WICB and the players' association was over sponsorship.

The series took place with replacements brought in, but tourists ended up losing 2-0.

Jamaican fast bowler Daren Powell, not included in the selected 13 for the game in St. Vincent, said he had been approached by the board to play.

Powell, dropped for May's tour of England but a regular over recent years with 37 test appearances, said he had turned down the offer.

"I was contacted by the West Indies board but I told them I was not available this time," said Powell.