It seems that any series between South Africa and the West Indies in recent history is jinxed. nce again, a controversy has left its imprint on the start. The issue of conflicting sponsorship is threatening to dampen the spirits, so high in the Caribbean islands, ahead of the first Test at Guyana.

While the South African squad is almost identical to the one that played against Zimbabwe recently and despite Shaun Pollock's persistent ankle injury, coach Ray Jennings believes it is not beyond his team to complete a whitewash miles away from home. Graeme Smith certainly seems to agree with his coach, as he hoped for a strong performance from his wards but also expressed his hopes to play against a full-strength West Indies team. That seems to be becoming more and more of an impossible scenario ahead of the Guyana Test, given the little amount of time left and the impasse between the two communication companies, Cable and Wireless and Digicel, continuing without a compromise in sight.

What the controversy between the players contracts and the board's dilemma has thrown in is the fact that Brian Lara's subsequent unavailability to represent the team has led to his sacking as the team captain with the reins falling in the hands of Shivnarine Chanderpaul. While Lara has been sitting on the fence in terms of making himself available to the squad given the present quandary, Chanderpaul has a less than enviable job on his hands. With as many as seven players being caught in the controversy, Chanderpaul has little to bargain for and the squad looks unsettled apart from players like Courtney Browne, Wavell Hinds, Pedro Collins and Corey Collymore. The other players have all been trying desperately to cement a place in the team and haven't been sure about their place.

While the controversy may have induced the visitors to lap up more information on the current situation as it stands, rather than doing their homework on the opposition players, it is doing far greater damage to a game already being termed as 'endangered' in the Caribbean islands, where American influence has long been threatening to change the face of sports in the island nations.

Despite the chaos and confusion consuming the headlines ahead of the crucial series, there is bound to be no dearth of action on the field. Should the impasse give way to a solution, something that appears highly unlikely at the moment, it would only mean more mayhem with the sorting out of the players for a strong final eleven, and perhaps the captain may not have enough time to prepare for a full-throttle battle ahead. Graeme Smith and the South African squad would do well not to let their guard down. They would not like a case of appearing too complacent given the strength of the opposition at the moment and then, get caught in a web of their own.