Gayle to miss first Test against Aussies

The West Indies have been dealt a critical blow just days out from the first Test against Australia with skipper Chris Gayle ruled out through injury.

Gayle suffered a groin injury a month ago in the final game of the West Indies' one-day series against Sri Lanka.

The loss of the opening batsman and skipper compounded further on Friday with news fellow opener Sewnarine Chattergoon, who made his debut against Sri Lanka in April, has also been ruled out with a shoulder problem.

Ramnaresh Sarwan will take over the captaincy, with all-rounder Dwayne Bravo the new vice-captain.

Sarwan captained the Windies twice last year against England.

After a week-long camp in Antigua, the West Indies Friday named a 14-man Test squad including opener Brenton Parchment, who scored 25 for Jamaica XI against Australia on the first day of their three-day match in Trelawny.

The loss of Gayle and Chattergoon follows the withdrawal of Marlon Samuels from the series after the batsman was handed a two-year ban on Monday for dealing with a bookmaker.

The first Test begins at Sabina Park in Kingston on Thursday.

Squad: Ramnaresh Sarwan (capt), Dwayne Bravo (v-capt), Sulieman Benn, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Fidel Edwards, Ryan Hinds, Amit Jaggernauth, Runako Morton, Darren Sammy, Devon Smith, Brenton Parchment, Daren Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Jerome Taylor.