Injury prone Jerome Taylor to play in SPL

Port of Spain (Trinidad), July 6 : Injury prone West Indies fast bowler Jerome Taylor has been snapped up as one of the overseas signings for the inaugural Sri Lanka Premier League (SPL) despite having not played international cricket in two years.

The 28-year-old has been sidelined by fitness issues which also caused him to miss this year's regional first class season for Jamaica.

Taylor, who will play for Rahuna, is one of seven West Indians among 56 overseas players who will play in the Aug 10-31 tournament.

He joins Samuel Badree, Kevon Cooper, Kemar Roach, Fidel Edwards, Marlon Samuels and Chris Gayle.

Leg-spinner Badree, who made his West Indies debut in the Twenty20 doubleheader against New Zealand last weekend in Florida, will turn out for Uthura along with Cooper and Edwards.

"Being selected for the West Indies in T20 cricket has put me in the market and hopefully other offers would come my way," Badree said.

"I am happy with the opportunity to play in Sri Lanka because this tournament is like a precursor for the T20 World Cup and some good performances there could catch the eyes of the West Indies selectors."

Roach will play for Wayamba with Samuels turning out for Basnahira and Gayle for Uva.

The list of overseas players is dominated by 18 Australians and 13 Pakistanis but none from India or England.

No mention was made of salaries.