A WICB statement said Lara and Hooper had not travelled as planned to South Africa from Bangladesh, where West Indies lost the Wills International Cup final to South Africa on Sunday. ``They've voiced concern over the fees for the tour of South Africa and have instead gone to England,'' a spokesman said.

Meanwhile, Pat Rousseau, the WICB president, was quoted as saying the board had reached agreement with the players' representative body, the West Indies Players' Association, on tour fees. However, Roland Holder, the WIPA secretary, disputed the board's assertion that fees had been agreed. He said the two sides were still negotiating.

Holder said he understood that neither Hooper nor Lara, who together with the spinner Jimmy Adams have been in London, planned to pull out of the tour and the association had sought permission for them to attend an emergency meeting of the WICB today. ``A full statement will be made by the president following that meeting,'' the WICB said.

In the meantime, the remainder of the team flew to South Africa, where they begin their build-up to the five-Test series with a one-day match against an Oppenheimer XI next Tuesday.

West Indies won their only previous Test at Bridgetown's Kensington Oval six years ago after South Africa had been readmitted to international cricket.

Salim Malik has been dropped by Pakistan for the first one-day match against Australia in Lahore on Friday. He was twice out for a duck in the final Test against the Australians in Karachi and Pakistan lost the series 1-0.

Muttiah Muralitharan, the Sri Lankan spinner, misses the three-nation Sharjah tournament starting on Friday after suffering a shoulder injury during the Wills International Cup.