ICC not to intervene in Windies dispute
The International Cricket Council has announced that it does not foresee its involvement in the sponsorship dispute West Indies cricket is embroiled in
Cricinfo staff
23-Mar-2005
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Speaking to the The Nation, Ehsan Mani, the ICC chairman, said, "Of course it is a concern to everyone in world cricket when a dispute such as this arises and it's something we [the ICC] can't ignore. It's our hope that common sense prevails and that the matter is soon amicably settled."
The ICC had intervened in a similar incident last year in Zimbabwe, when 15 players including Heath Streak boycotted the team in dispute with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) over selection. Mani remarked that the incident questioned the integrity of Test cricket and considerably weakened the Zimbabwe side. This resulted into ZCU canceling the Tests against Australia after which the ICC withheld the Test status of Zimbabwe until the end of the year.
The West Indies board, which failed to reach a solution that was satisfactory to all parties, named a second string squad to play against South Africa in the first Test on March 31. "It's obvious that the absence of Lara, Gayle and Sarwan means that the West Indies have lost three top players but their cricket has a much stronger base than Zimbabwe's did last year," continued Mani. "Many of our members have faced similar issues and are very strongly of the view that the only way to find a solution is at the local level."
Mani, who was present in the ICC meeting in Delhi last week along with Teddy Griffith, the president of the WICB, said that they spoke only briefly on the impasse between the board and the players. Mani also explained that the ICC had no mandate from its members to "unilaterally impose itself on these types of disputes". It took action only when it posed a threat to Test cricket.