Old contracts forming a stumbling-block

The West Indies Cricket Board is reportedly in a mess over its handling of player contracts and payments, against the backdrop of a complication between its new sponsor, Digicel, and its former sponsor of 20 years, Cable & Wireless, according to an article on the Caribbeancricket.com website.

It is claimed that in 2003, Cable & Wireless signed an endorsement contract with Brian Lara, and later signed several other players, all with the Board's co-operation. When the new deal was struck with Digicel, the Board then sought to buy out the deals through the retainer contracts negotiated with the West Indies Players' Association.

According to the website, "Two weeks ago, the board did an about-face on the agreed-upon buyout ... One can only assume that they failed to get Digicel's buy-in for their buy-out, and the new sponsor applied some pressure on the board to prevent its newly acquired rights from being diluted by the Cable & Wireless players. C&W, not surprisingly, is standing by its endorsement deals with those players and is not about to give them up."

It has led to an awkward situation, involving the Board, the players' association, Digicel and C&W, with neither of the sponsors seemingly willing to back down. Whatever the outcome, it's the players - particularly those with C&W contracts - who seem to be at risk the most.