WIPA furious over missed payments

The strained relationship between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) appears set to deteriorate further with the news that money destined for an investment fund had not been paid by the board since the tour of England in June last year.

The Trinidad and Tobago Express has reported that WIPA has accused the board of not using the money for which it was intended, following as it does close on the heels of the sponsorship fiasco that resulted in top players being dropped for the opening Test against Guyana. The report goes on to say that further enquiries by WIPA forced the board to issue payment instructions to its bank so that money could be transferred into the Provident Fund set up for the players.

A percentage of the match fee is supposed to be invested by the WICB in the fund, which was established to provide players with financial security once they retire. When the newspaper contacted Dinanath Ramnarine, president of WIPA, it learnt that the board had informed him that payments were delayed "due to timing issues with regard to our collections".

Ramnarine was quoted as saying: "At no time were the players or WIPA informed that there were 'timing issues', whatever that means." Ramnarine's letter to the board also contained the following damning extract: "In the circumstances, we have no option but to conclude that the Board has misused the players' money, and to demand that the sums remitted now to the Fund include interest payments which would have been earned had the money been deposited on time".