BCCSL face court showdown with WSG Nimbus

The Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) interim committee faces a legal showdown on Tuesday as they bid to end the television rights dispute before the West Indies tour of Sri Lanka.

On Tuesday, the BCCSL's legal representatives will attend the Commercial High Court as they try to defend themselves against court action taken by television company WSG Nimbus Pvt Ltd after the BCCSL terminated their three-year contract last week.

WSG Nimbus is disputing an arbitrary clause in the contract, which was automatically terminated when they failed to honour their master rights agreement with the Cricket Board in terms of the settlement reached in case No. HC (Civil) 20/2001 (1).

According to the BCCSL, the terms of settlement required WSG Nimbus to make a bank guarantee to the BCCSL before a certain date prior to every tour. In the event of a default their agreement would cease to exist.

The BCCSL maintain that this is the second occasion the television company had been found at fault for not honouring their contract.

In the first instance the previous the BCCSL administration took them to courts, when they delayed payments before the tour here by England in January. On the present occasion they stand accused by the BCCSL of delaying payments once again before the West Indies tour of Sri Lanka.

The Cricket Board invited fresh tenders for television rights last week and board sources said that five companies have already indicated an interest. Formal bids are due by the end of the week. The deadline for the bids is October 29.