WI players association report unpaid sponsorship money

The West Indies Players Association (WIPA) has confirmed receiving complaints from members of the West Indies team that toured Australia last year that they are yet to receive the sponsorship money owed to them for performances in the series.

The protest by the players to WIPA has also coincided with reported criticisms by Shivnarine Chanderpaul about growing incidents of disrespect and poor treatment meted out to team members in travel and accommodation arrangements by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB). Both issues are now reported to be engaging the attention of the WICB management.

In confirming yesterday the concerns of players on the delayed sponsorship payment for the Australia series, Dinanath Ramnarine, WIPA's Chief Excecutive and President, said he had already approached the WICB management on the matter and was "anxiously awaiting a satisfactory and speedy resolution". He said that "regrets" have been expressed, accompanied by "assurances" and it was now for the actual payments- sum in the region of about US$140,000 is involved - to be made to the players.

Questioned about the current controversy also over the annual million dollar salary being paid to Bennett King, West Indies' Australian coach, when test players cannot be paid on time money due them for the 2005 tour to Australia, the WIPA official remained non-committal: "I prefer not to get involved on this aspect at this time. But we [WIPA] naturally have an interest in the matter and will monitor the outcome of current developments..."

Chetram Singh, the president of the Guyana Cricket Board, has already made an official call for the management of the WICB to urgently review the board's financial obligation to Bennett King. Singh has asked in a letter to the Board "whether we could afford now the million dollars per annum [to King] without seeing some value for it" from a coach who, "in our estimation, is being given too much power" with negative on-field consequences.