Mitchell suggests cooling-off period

Keith Mitchell, Grenada's prime minister, has suggested a "cooling-off period" between West Indies' players and their cricket board in the ongoing dispute about endorsement contracts.

"Some of the problems that are now emerging can be resolved with a cooling-off period during the holidays and during the tour," he said on BBC World Service on Tuesday. "Then we will engage the private-sector bodies, both Cable & Wireless and Digicel, in the whole question of a final solution to the problems faced by the board and the players." Mitchell would "offer some constructive solutions" to ensure the West Indies team's imminent tour of Australia continues "without any disruption whatsoever".

Mitchell, who helped settle the initial stalemate in November, is set to meet officials from both the players' association and the board today. Judge Adrian Saunders, the mediator in the dispute between the board and several of the players over contracts, will present his report at that meeting.