Cricket stand-off ends with agreement

BRIDGETOWN: The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) have ended the stand-off that prevented the start of the Carib Beer Challenge semi-finals yesterday and agreed to have both matches start today.

The parties resumed talks yesterday afternoon — after a breakdown on Thursday evening — and after a brief session, settled on the way forward, addressing the contentious issues including increased fees to players in senior domestic competitions. The WICB said they were prepared to begin negotiations with WIPA next week, with both sides being represented by their industrial relations advisors. Players from all the teams — Barbados against Trinidad and Tobago at Kensington Oval in Barbados and Guyana versus Jamaica at Albion — had refused to take the field yesterday morning for the semi-finals. WICB president Reverend Wes Hall and acting chief executive officer Roger Brathwaite, joined by industrial advisor Evelyn Greaves and Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) president Stephen Alleyne, met WIPA executives to address the issues.

WIPA president Dinanath Ramnarine, treasurer Wavell Hinds and ex-Test player Phil Simmons represented the players in the negotiations. The parties agreed to establish collective bargaining procedures between the board and WIPA. After the WICB’s questioning of WIPA’s legitimacy to represent all regional players triggered a walkout by Ramnarine late Thursday, the two sides have now decided to develop a mutually agreed format in identifying membership of WIPA, which previously represented only Test and One-Day International players. The board say they will recognise WIPA as the bargaining agent for all players as long as they were satisfied about the authenticity of its membership, and the WICB also said they are prepared to financially support training in leadership and industrial relations for members of WIPA and the WICB. Both semi-finals are now set to start at 10 am today.