West Indies captain Brian Lara has been invited by West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to play in the upcoming home series against South Africa starting next Thursday after initially being left out of the squad after a contract dispute.

Lara and six other players Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dwayne Bravo, Fidel Edwards, Dwayne Smith and Ravi Rampaul, were left out intentionally by the WICB after conflicting rows between West Indies' main official sponsor Digicel and the players' personal deals with Cable and Wireless.

The World record holder for the highest innings in Test and first class cricket, received an invitation and match contract for the Test in Guyana on Friday and was given 24 hours to respond to his selection.

"The 24-hour delay in the announcement is due to the fact that the West Indies Cricket Board has issued a letter of invitation and a Match/Tour contract today to Brian Lara to make himself available for selection to the squad for the match, which begins in Guyana on 31 March. Lara has agreed to respond within 24 hours," according to a statement posted on the West Indies Cricket Board web site.

It is also understood that counsels advised the WICB that of the seven initial players left out of selection, only Lara could be considered for selection because he had entered into his deal with Cable & Wireless as an individual and not a member of West Indies' team.

"The Board's legal counsel advised that Lara's contract with Cable and Wireless, which was signed in 2003 and expires in September 2005 was deemed as pre-existing and this therefore made him eligible for selection at this time," (WICB).

The West Indies will name the squad later today and although the situation between the six other players is yet to be resolved, the statement added that the board looks forward to having all the players eligible for team selection.