The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : West Indies may pick new team

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 29, 2005

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Sport - Cricket

West Indies may pick new team

BRIDGETOWN (Barbados): The West Indies cricket selectors were scheduled to meet on Tuesday to pick an alternative squad for next month's tour of Sri Lanka.

Only captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul, fast bowler Daren Powell, and rookie wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin of the 13 originally chosen last week signed the West Indies Cricket Board's tour contract following a dispute over a clause restricting them from seeking endorsements in conflict with the team's overall sponsor, Irish telecommunications company Digicel.

The West Indies is scheduled to play two Tests against Sri Lanka, and compete in a limited-overs tri-series with Sri Lanka and India.

``We have a responsibility to Sri Lanka, India and the International Cricket Council (ICC) to honour the agreement for this Test series and one-day international triangular contest, and we will do all in our power to meet that commitment,'' WICB chief executive Roger Brathwaite said in a statement on Monday.

If the WICB fails to send a team it could be fined up to $2 million (euro1.65 million) by the ICC for breaching its agreement.

Brathwaite said the WICB had been in touch with ``some of the players'' in the West Indies `A' team presently touring Sri Lanka to check their availability.

He claimed to have had ``a very positive response'' from them, but that contradicted reports on a cricket Web site and Barbados radio station on Monday.

The Web site, cricinfo.com, said the players were summoned to a meeting with tour manager Lindel Wright at which they ``unanimously refused to discuss the matter, and subsequently contacted the board to advise it that they would not do anything until negotiations between WICB and WIPA (West Indies Players Association) were completed.''

CBC Radio in Barbados claimed 13 of the 15 players in Sri Lanka advised that they would not sign the contract for the senior tour ``in solidarity'' with those originally chosen.

The issue over players' personal endorsement rights in the context of overall team sponsorship has dragged on since last November when the majority of players chosen for January's tour of Australia refused to sign the WICB contract.

It took the intervention of the Caribbean Community subcommittee on cricket, headed by Grenada Prime Minister Keith Mitchell, and the temporary adjudication of Adrian Saunders, acting Chief Justice of the Orake a binding ruling on the issue but differences on timing led to a breakdown in negotiations.

Conclusive ruling

The WIPA insisted Saunders make a conclusive ruling before the tour could go ahead.

Both sides put forward new proposals on Monday in a belated attempt to find common ground.

``We have made a further proposal to the WICB with a view to resolving the current impasse, and to ensure that the tour of Sri Lanka takes place with the best players chosen on merit and ability,'' WIPA President and chief executive Dinanath Ramnarine said on Monday. — AP

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