Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza has called on his players to ignore West Indies' troubles and focus on their preparation.

There is considerable doubt as to whether the first Test in Kingston, scheduled to start today, will even go ahead after West Indies Players Association (WIPA) president Dinanath Ramnarine has said the Windies players would boycott the series.

The threat was made after a meeting between WIPA and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) last Saturday failed to resolve a long-standing contractual dispute between the parties.

At a press conference at the Queen's Park Oval on Tuesday, Ramnarine hit out at the WICB for their handling of players' retainer contracts, claiming the governing body have not delivered on their side of an agreement reached in 2007.

Series still in doubt

As a result, Ramnarine said he had been instructed by his players to boycott the series.

He said: "Having considered the situation carefully and dispassionately, and bearing in mind their own welfare without ignoring the concern of other stakeholders, the players have requested me as president of WIPA, the players' body, to inform the WICB, sponsors and the public that, regretfully, they cannot with immediate effect continue playing without any contracts with the WICB."

The WICB released a statement in response on Wednesday in which they revealed a meeting with WIPA had been organised for Thursday. However, that would seem too late to broker a deal in time to avoid disrupting the Test.

Second string to take field

As per the reports, the WICB has already sought to assemble a second-string line-up for the match in St Vincent. Former batsman Floyd Reifer, who played four Tests between 1997 and 1999, has been named captain, while Darren Sammy, who was part of the recent ICC World Twenty20, will be the vice-captain.

Dale Richards, Kraigg Brathwaite, Ryan Austin, Chadwick Walton, Omar Phillips Kevin McClean, Andre Creary, Travis Dowlin, and Nelon Pascal are the other uncapped players to get a chance.

This will significantly boost Bangladesh's chances of claiming a first Test series success in the Caribbean after running the Windies close before losing a two-Test series 1-0 five years ago.

Mortaza, however, does not want his players to get too far ahead of themselves.

The 25-year-old paceman is due to captain the Tigers for the first time after his predecessor Mohammad Ashraful was stood down from the role following their group stage exit at last month's World Twenty20 in England.

Mortaza believes that ignominious exit, which was sealed by a loss to non-Test playing Ireland, means they have plenty to prove as he looks to build a new era.

Time to prove themselves

"This is an important series for us especially because we didn't do well in the World Twenty20," he said.

"We have not done well in Tests in the past but I think it's important that we begin well so that we build on it and gain momentum.

"What is important is that the players play to full potential. Winning and losing is secondary.

"I hope this tour will be a great launch pad and all the players contribute."

Bangladesh have only won once in 57 Tests since making their debut in 2001, against Zimbabwe, and are yet to beat an establish Test-playing nation.

While this series may offer their best hope yet, the Tigers struggled in their tour opener against West Indies B - a number of whose players could now feature in the Test - as their problems with the bat continued.

The Tigers were dismissed for 195 in their first innings, with Ashraful, who was demoted from the captaincy to focus on his batting, leading the way with 50.

West Indies duo Kemar Roach and Ryan Austin took five wickets each and could find themselves elevated to the Test side on the back of those performances.

Bangladesh's bowlers limited the damage to only concede a 53-run deficit, despite a century from Devon Thomas, after Shahadat Hossain and Shakib Al Hasan claimed three wickets each.

Confidence woes

The Tigers then improved with the bat in their second innings to be 233 for five when the match reached its conclusion, but Mortaza admits his side must be more consistent if they want to secure a breakthrough win.

"The first thing I said after becoming the captain is that we have a problem with our confidence level," said Mortaza.

"It's not that we can't play at the international level, we have played Test matches for five days in the past and beaten international teams.

"There is, however, no use dwelling on the past and I have spoken to the boys to believe in themselves and keep their confidence high throughout the tour."