No Cricket Deal Yet (9 November 1998)

9 November 1998

No Cricket Deal Yet

The Barbados Nation

Pat Rousseau sat face to face with Brian Lara and Carl Hooper in London yesterday as West Indies cricketers and officials negotiated well into the night to try to salvage the tour of South Africa.

The first seven hours of talks between the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) yesterday failed to end the dispute.

Courtney Walsh, head of the players' association, said at the break that no solution had been found but talks would continue late into the night with no decision expected before today.

He said he was still hopeful of a settlement.

''Negotiations are still going on,'' Walsh said. ''I'm going back to speak to the players now. There will be more meetings tonight and tomorrow.''

WICB president Rousseau, arriving yesterday from the Caribbean, headed the talks with the disgruntled players in a hotel near Heathrow airport.

A WICB release said Rousseau's delegation included board members Richard De-Souza and Joel Garner, chief marketing executive Chris Dehring, and team manager Clive Lloyd. Garner was reported later to have left for Bangladesh where he will serve as manager of the reserve West Indies team.

Representing WIPA were Walsh, vice-president Lara, treasurer Jimmy Adams and players' representative Hooper.

The crisis began last Wednesday when the WIBC fired Lara as captain and Hooper as vice-captain after they demanded better pay and conditions for the South African tour plus a better structure for future contracts.

One of the hang-ups might be player demands that Lara and Hooper be reinstated, though another report discounted that theory.

"The West Indian Board has conveyed the sticking points to me, but it's not for me to comment," said Ali Bacher, the head of South African cricket.

This would be the West Indies' first official tour of the republic since the end of apartheid. The tour was to start tomorrow with a One-Day match. The first Test is set for November 26.

Barrie Gill, a representative for Brian Lara's agent, said the players were still hopeful.

''The players were packed and ready to go,'' he said. ''It's too late tonight but the players still hope to go to South Africa tomorrow (Monday) night.''

''I'm on the outside looking in,'' he said, exiting the hotel.

Bacher said he remained optimistic and looked for a settlement today.

''They (players) discussed the proposals and now they have gone back to the rest of the players - to get approval I would have thought,'' Bacher said.

"If they catch a flight tomorrow night it won't be the end of the world," he said.

Bacher, speaking for Rousseau - who didn't meet reporters - described the WICB president as ''pragmatic, realistic and wants the tour to take place".

Earlier yesterday, reports indicated the pay deadlock would be broken by a sponsorship deal offered by former South African wicketkeeper David Richardson.

Source :: The Barbados Nation (https://www.nationnews.com/)