An agreement long overdue

After what Dinanath Ramnarine estimated to be "thousands of hours" of negotiations, peace has seemingly broken out between his West Indies Players Association (WIPA) and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).

It took all that time, all the destructive war of words, all the dismissals and boycotts, all the divisions between board and players and players and players, for the two to finally come to an agreement over retainer contracts and related issues that their counterparts in every other major cricket country long since had in place.

The conflict brought West Indies cricket to its knees, at precisely the moment when it appeared poised for a revival following the stirring triumph in the ICC Champions Trophy in September, 2002.

Turmoil has taken toll
In the intervening year-and-a-half, the turmoil has taken its toll in the resignations of a board president, a chief executive and a captain, all originally elevated to their positions by default.

More to the point, its effect has been most evident in results on the field. They were so woeful that the West Indies could manage just a solitary win in 14 Tests while their record in one-day internationals was even worse than Zimbabwe's in the relevant period.

It became obvious, even to WICB directors and to Ramnarine and his advisers previously entrenched in their positions, that such a state of affairs could not continue. West Indies cricket would not survive such perpetual instability much longer.

It was a realisation also recognised by Ken Gordon, the new WICB president, by the heavyweights Gordon had shrewdly assembled to be the new cricket committee and by the players themselves. It was a combination that guaranteed a settlement.

Gordon has set himself the task of ensuring that the West Indies become the host team to win next year's World Cup when it is staged in the Caribbean for the first time. Given the record and the statistics, it is virtually a mission impossible and he publicly stated that it could only happen if the players were on retainer contracts so that a team of full-time professionals could be properly moulded and prepared.

Anyone standing in the way of implementing the system was not contributing to the development of West Indies, he charged. There could be no doubt to whom his comment was directed.

He charged Lloyd and his committee (Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Desmond Haynes, Deryck Murray and Ian Bishop) with settling the retainer contracts issue with the WIPA.

"After three months, we have been unable to conclude an agreement in spite of an increase on our original proposal of five per cent. We have been at a lost to understand the reasons for this matter being dragged out as long as it has," the committee reported on April 19, only ten days prior to the start of the ODI series against Zimbabwe. It recommended a cut-off date on April 21 for signing.

Ramnarine responded defiantly. "We are not going to be pressured by anybody into signing a retainer contract because we are the only team that does not have a retainer contract," he said. "We will sign the retainer contract once we believe that it is a fair and reasonable contract and it is in the best interest of the player."

But he could not help take note of the cricket committee's comments. This was not a statement signed by some WICB operative but, collectively, from some of the most revered members of the most glorious era in West Indies cricket. While these developments were taking place, the WIPA announced a retreat for 40 players in Port-of-Spain.

Time right
It was, it said, specifically requested by its members "who felt that the time was right to re-evaluate and examine ways to improve their performance as part of their objective to once more become a world-class cricket force."

"Our members are deeply aware of their responsibility to the region and the need to be part of the process of placing West Indies cricket once more at the top of the world," Ramnarine said.

Part of that process, as Gordon proclaimed, was the implementation of the retainer contracts, the levels of which could only be based on performance. The point of such contracts is that they provide the board with a settled core of players - if, because of its present financial position not nearly as many as it would like - and the players the security of a steady income, over and above what they receive as match and tour fees.

As they are, like everywhere else, for one year, they are also an incentive to the players to perform. Any backslider must know he won't be employed again, his place taken by a keener candidate.

No one, not even Ken Gordon, can believe all the woes of West Indies cricket are not solved by the accommodation between the WICB and the WIPA. It removes a considerable obstacle but there are a host of others standing along the path of progress. At least, it's a long overdue start.