West Indies Players Association 'optimistic'

The West Indies Players Association (WIPA) offered a counter-proposal to the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) yesterday as the retainer contract impasse continued unresolved.

And the board was to discuss the matter by teleconference last night to decide on their next move, while the Caribbean Media Corporation reported that both parties "are expected to meet again on Tuesday in a bid to end the protracted negotiations, even as the recommended deadline passed on Friday with little fanfare".

With the Zimbabwe tour scheduled to start in Antigua on Saturday, and with the West Indies captain and team still to be named, the Board and WIPA have not yet reached an agreement on the contentious issue which cast regional cricket into the headlines again following the WICB's announcing of an ultimatum.

That ultimatum was recommended by the WICB Cricket Committee, comprising Clive Lloyd (chairman), Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Desmond Haynes, Deryck Murray and Ian Bishop, following what they claimed were three months of bargaining. And the committee advised the WICB to set last Friday as the deadline for the finalisation of the retainer contract matter. It further suggested that in case of the failure to conclude the talks, "thereafter the team shall be selected based on those players who make themselves available".

But the deadline has come and gone with no such drastic action taken. Dinanath Ramnarine, the WIPA president and CEO, who said he was "very shocked and surprised" at the WICB ultimatum, met with Murray yesterday and delivered his association's counter-proposal. "We put forward a proposal," he stated, "now it's for them (the WICB) to get back to us." Asked if the talks yesterday were compromised by the WICB ultimatum, Ramnarine said his organisation approached it as business as usual.

"We (he and Murray) conducted our business as normal, I did not have a mandate before but I got one yesterday from my membership and got a consensus from the membership which I put in a proposal and delivered to Mr Murray."

Asked if he felt the best West Indies team available will take the field for the start of the Zimbabwe tour, he replied: "We hope that good sense prevails. We negotiated in good faith ... and now we hope we can get on with what is best for West Indies cricket."

So what if there is failure to agree on the retainer contract? "We're optimistic," Ramnarine stated, "because we are absolutely for the retainer contracts, once it is done in the best interest of the players and West Indies cricket, but if the retainer does not come through we have the example of the match/tour contracts from previous tours which has worked. But if we can't reach an agreement on that, that is something that the Board and us will have to discuss, but we would like it to be resolved as soon as possible."