Xavier Marshall and Willett test positive

Xavier Marshall, the West Indies opening batsman, and Tonito Willett, from Leewards, have tested positive in the drug tests conducted during a two-week camp in Antigua in August. They were among the 32 players named in a provisional Stanford Superstars squad to face England in the Stanford 20/20 for 20, a winner-take-all US$20 million match on November 1.

Donald Peters, the chief executive of the West Indies board (WICB), confirmed the news and said action would be taken after advice from the attorneys. "They [the attorneys] are looking into the matter and will advise us on the course of action," Peters told Cricinfo. "WICB has a zero-tolerance policy on drugs and the matter could come up to the disciplinary committee. We are looking at a time frame of two weeks."

Peters said that the board will take action, if any, on Marshall, as he is a centrally-contracted player, and would let Leewards handle Willett. Marshall was withdrawn from the Stanford squad on September 16 for undisclosed reasons.

The drug tests on the Stanford Superstars were carried out by the Caribbean Regional Anti-Doping Organisation (RADO) agency. "We did the drug tests and there were two adverse analytical findings - which is the equivalent to two positive tests," Dr Adrian Lorde, the chairman of the Caribbean Rado, had told Midweek Nation.

"We can't reveal the nature of the substance they tested positive for," an official with Stanford said.