Sarwan heads home

Ramnaresh Sarwan clutches his injured shoulder at Headingley

West Indies captain Ramnaresh Sarwan has been ruled out of the rest of the tour of England after damaging his shoulder in the second Test at Headingley Carnegie.

The 26-year-old will return to the Caribbean after sustaining the injury while fielding during England's innings. He was unable to bat in either of the West Indies' innings.

Sarwan was leading the team for only the second time in Tests, having officially replaced Brian Lara as captain after the disappointing World Cup campaign, in which the hosts failed to reach the semi-finals.

The tourists have confirmed Sarwan will not be fit for another six weeks.

He will therefore miss the final two Tests of the four-match npower series and will also be unavailable for three one-day internationals after that.

Team manager Mike Findlay explained: “The injury will take six weeks to heal, and he will not be able to take any further part in this tour.”

Sarwan himself voiced his regret at having to fly home but backed his team-mates to bounce back after their record innings defeat in the Leeds Test.

“I am very disappointed that I will not be able to continue,” he said.

“I have spoken to the players and wished them well for the remainder of the Tests, the Twenty20 series and the one-dayers.

“I have every confidence that the boys will be able to rebound after the defeat at Headingley.”

Vice-captain Daren Ganga deputised for Sarwan when he was unavailable at Headingley, but a team spokesman reported on Tuesday afternoon that no official replacement has yet being named to lead the team at Old Trafford and the Riverside.

That decision will be made soon, and the tourists will also be naming a batting replacement for Sarwan as soon as they can.