Aussie relief over full-strength Windies' tourAustralian cricket was relieved to learn a full-strength West Indies West Indies, archipelago, between North and South America, curving c.2,500 mi (4,020 km) from Florida to the coast of Venezuela and separating the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico from the Atlantic Ocean. touring squad would be heading here later this month, Cricket Australia Cricket Australia, formerly (and still often referred to as) the Australian Cricket Board, is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in Australia. It was originally formed in 1905 as the Australian Board of Control for International Cricket Matches. said on Tuesday. Reinstated captain Chris Gayle Christopher "Chris" Henry Gayle (born 21 September, 1979 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a West Indian cricketer. He is a hard-hitting left-handed batsman who can bowl right-arm off spin when called upon. Gayle has a variety of quality shots that he can perform. and fellow senior players, Shivnarine Chanderpaul Shivnarine 'Shiv' Chanderpaul (born 16 August, 1974 in Unity Village, Demerara-Mahaica, Guyana) is a cricketer, and former captain of the West Indies cricket team. He captained the West Indies in fourteen Tests and sixteen One-Day Internationals. , Ramnaresh Sarwan Ramnaresh Ronnie Sarwan (born June 23, 1980,Wakenaam Island, Guyana) is a West Indian cricketer of Indo-Guyanese ethnicity and captain of the West Indies cricket team. and Dwayne Bravo Dwayne James John Bravo (born 7 October, 1983 in Trinidad and Tobago) is a West Indian cricketer. A genuine all-rounder, Bravo is expected to play a significant role in attempts by the West Indies to return to international prominence in the sport. have been included in the touring team after missing a home series against Bangladesh and the Champions Trophy over a contractual dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in the West Indies (a sporting confederation of over a dozen mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries and dependencies that formed the British West Indies). . The West Indies, currently ranked eighth of the nine Test-playing nations, are scheduled to tour Australia for three Tests, Twenty20 and one-day matches from this month. "We've seen in recent times where a West Indies side has struggled against Bangladesh and others and it's a great relief to know they're going to be full strength," CA chief executive James Sutherland told reporters. "I'm sure they'll put up a really good performance this summer. "I think they'll have a renewed spirit after coming back and having had a bit of time out of the game, it's a summer of cricket that we're really looking forward to." Cricket Australia had faced a revenue hit if a weakened West Indies side had toured, but Sutherland said it was more significant that Australian fans would have been denied the chance to see the best players in action. "What we can look forward to now is a fantastic atmosphere at matches," he said. "Those three Test matches against the West Indies -- in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth -- are always, no matter who's playing, great traditional events and people come from all over the state and even all over the country to attend those matches. "So no matter who's playing there's a great element of tradition about these games, so we expect good crowds. "But the fact now that the West Indies are full strength means that if there was any doubt, I think that's all removed now."
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