Dispute no closer to an end

The letter from the A team to the board confirming their stand © www.caribbeancricket.com

The ongoing dispute between the West Indies Cricket Board and its own players continues to rumble on, with the board seeking clarification of some points put to it by the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA).

On Monday, the board sought to clarify Clause Five of its match/tour contract, the main cause of dispute, inserting a new clause that sought to clarify the position with respect to a player's right to individual endorsements.

WIPA responded to that by stating that the amendment, along with the main contract, needed to be put before Justice Adrian Saunders, who was appointed last November to arbitrate in the long-running dispute. But WIPA's statement said that Saunders' binding decision should be "applied to that contract with all the attendant consequences." The board has now gone back to its legal advisors to ascertain the meaning of that phrase.

An insider said that the relationship between the board and WIPA was now "extremely strained". On Monday, the board sent a representative to Sri Lanka to try to persuade the A-team players there to prepare to be drafted in to the main squad were the row not to be resolved - WIPA were not told this was happening. Roger Bathwaite, the WICB's chief executive, told the press that he had had "a very positive response from them". And yet hours later it emerged that all but two of the players had rejected the idea, and had sent a letter confirming that they were backing the action of the senior squad.

What is certain is that time is running out. A West Indies squad is scheduled to leave for Sri Lanka on Friday, and yet at the moment there are only five players who have signed the board's contract - Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the captain, Darren Powell and rookie Denesh Ramdin from the 17 originally approached, and Tino Best and Kerry Jeremy from the A team.