Keisha Hill, Staff Reporter

Marlon Samuels ... will miss this week's Carib Beer Series match against Trinidad and Tobago at Queen's Park Oval. - File

THE CHAIRMAN of the Jamaican Cricket Association (JCA) selection committee, Rudy Williams, has confirmed West Indies all-rounder Marlon Samuels will not play in the upcoming Carib Beer Series match against Trinidad and Tobago which begins in the twin-island republic on Friday.

Williams said Samuels would be unavailable because he could not reach the venue on time due to prior commitments.

He said Samuels had apparently completed his personal obligations and had tried to secure a flight to the twin islands to join the team that left the island yesterday.

However, Samuels was unable to get a flight out in time for tomorrow's practice session or for Friday's continuation of the series, he said.

Williams added that it was likely Samuels would join the team in Barbados for round five of the competition. Jamaica will play Barbados at the Kensington Oval from March 7-10.

In the interim, Samuels has been replaced by Tamar Lambert, who captains the team in the absence of present captain Christopher Gayle.

Williams also dispelled an earlier report that Wavell Hinds had been dropped from the 13-man squad. He indicated that Hinds will play English County cricket this season and thus was unavailable for the rest of the series.

Hinds replaced

With this in mind, Hinds was replaced by all-rounder Brendan Nash. The Jamaica Carib Beer squad: Christopher Gayle (captain), Xavier Marshall, Brendan Nash, Shawn Findlay, Danza Hyatt, Odean Brown, David Bernard Jr, Carlton Baugh Jr, Tamar Lambert, Brenton Parchment, Darren Powell, Jerome Taylor and Nikita Miller.

In round six, Jamaica will play the Windward Islands from March 14-17.

Following the round-robin phase, the two top teams will play in the final with the higher-placed team playing at home.