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The continuing vagaries of air communication in the region left the West Indies cricket team short-handed yesterday.

While the ten who actually made it to Georgetown the night before had their first practice session prior to the first Cable & Wireless Test against India, starting at Bourda tomorrow, the three Trinidadians Marlon Black, Merv Dillon and Brian Lara - were waiting for a flight out of Piarco after they were grounded on Monday night.

They and team trainer/physio Ronald Rogers were expected by a BWIA flight late yesterday afternoon.

They were booked to fly out on Monday night but were bumped off the flight when their plane was grounded with some sort of mechanical failure and was replaced by a smaller aircraft, team manager Ricky Skerritt explained.

It's a bit of a setback as we would obviously have liked everyone to be here as planned, Skerritt said, adding with a knowing shrug: I suppose we've come to accept these things by now.

As the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) continues to use scheduled flights to transport both teams and officials the length and breadth of the Caribbean during home series, Skerritt's philosophical reaction is understandable.

Six years ago, a One-Day International in St Vincent was in jeopardy as the New Zealand team's gear only arrived on the morning of the match, two days behind hand.

Late departures and arrivals are as commonplace for high-profile international cricketers as they are for the ordinary, long-suffering traveller.

There have been suggestions from various quarters that the WICB charter flights instead that would be a more convenient and reliable way of moving the sizeable entourage of players, administrators, umpires and media personnel around.

The WICB's official line for some time has been that it would be more expensive and unnecessary, given that foul-ups are infrequent.

With the logistical nightmare it will have to confront when it hosts the 2007 World Cup, the latest disruption is a salutary lesson.

Captain Carl Hooper supervised yesterday's practice session at the Police Sports Club ground but did not actively participate.

He is still carefully attending to the injury to his finger sustained in the Busta International Series final against Jamaica in Kingston on Saturday although he confirmed that he is fit enough to play.

The finger is bruised, not fractured, and improving with treatment.

There was encouraging news for the Indians yesterday as the MRI scan performed on off-spinner Harbhajan Singh's right shoulder in Port-of-Spain on Monday revealed no significant damage.

He was returning to Georgetown on Monday on the same flight as the missing Trinidadians God and BWIA willing and would put the shoulder to the test in the final practice session today.

Harbhajan, 21, is a key member of the attack and there was inevitable concern when he complained of pain in the shoulder after throwing a ball from the outfield in India's warm-up match against the Guyana Cricket Board President's XI at the Everest Sports Club here Sunday.

The Indians took the day off yesterday, presumably satisfied with their preparations.

It was a decision that did not entirely correspond with coach John Wright's comment following their derisive go-slow batting in a pre-arranged limited-overs match Sunday that his players were keen to have some practice.

© The Barbados Nation