Board asks players association to back down on clause

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has stated that it is willing to bring an end to the dispute over player contracts, but that it needs more leeway on one clause of the contract. Clause five has been a sore point between the board and the players association, because it involves a conflict between the board's sponsors and the players' sponsors.

The board has stated that unless the players association backs down on its stand, it sees no point in holding another meeting. "Some of the conditions stipulated by the board have nothing to do with cricket but represent an attempt to exploit the players for commercial purposes," Dinanath Ramnarine, the players association president and chief executive, had said after the last meeting. A problem was that players risked losing their image rights if they signed the tour contracts for the upcoming VB series in Australia.

The dilemma is a touchy one, for the board has made it clear to players to inform it of any intention to enter into personal contracts with corporations. The reasoning was that there could be a conflict between sponsors, which the board sought to avoid. Also, the board's contract required compliance from the players on the issue that they would not endorse a competitor of the board's sponsor while representing the West Indies team, unless the board had given prior permission.

However, a press release by the board mentioned compensation to players: "The board has never sought to assume ownership of the individual rights of the players or requested them to forego these rights. Match and tour contracts have always honoured this practice. During the negotiations with WIPA [the players association] last Thursday discussions were had as to the basis on which compensation would be paid to players in the context of advertisements and personal appearances on behalf of the major sponsor."