Associated Press

Bridgetown, March 19:

Brian Lara’s suspension was cleared and the captain was invited by the West Indies Cricket Board to make himself available to play South Africa. However, six other players banned with Lara two weeks ago, remained ineligible for selection because their endorsement contracts with Cable & Wireless were still deemed to be in conflict with telecommunications rival Digicel, the board’s chief sponsor. Lara, a veteran of 112 Tests and captain since 2003, agreed on Friday to decide within 24 hours whether he will play for the West Indies in the first of four Tests against South Africa, starting in Georgetown on March 31. Lara and the other players Dwayne Bravo, Fidel Edwards, Chris Gayle, Ravi Rampaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Smith were ruled out of contention by the WICB. The players’ contracts were given to the WICB last weekend so its lawyers could determine whether they included any breaches of its $20 million agreement with Digicel. The WICB said its legal counsel advised that only Lara was eligible because his contract with Cable & Wireless was done with the board’s consent and before the WICB signed on Digicel in 2004.