Players not paid for attending camp

SHOULD cricketers who aren’t being paid to attend a training camp be required to provide advertising exposure to sponsors? That’s one of the latest hiccups in negotiations between the WICB and WIPA that has led to a delay in the pre-tour camp which was scheduled to begin in Barbados on Monday. West Indies cricketers invited to camp are not paid any fees for attending and WIPA wants to make sure that players aren’t required to wear advertisers’ logos on training gear without adequate compensation. The 25 players invited to the Barbados camp will collect per-diems in the range of US$50 and US$75 but they will not be paid any fees for the three weeks.

The WICB provides transportation, accommodation, breakfast and lunch for the duration of the camp but players are required to secure their own dinners. Since the camp is considered part of the overseas tour which is being sponsored by Digicel, it is likely that the training gear provided by the WICB will be emblazoned with Digicel’s red and green logo. If that is the case, WIPA wants to make sure that the players are compensated accordingly. The two sides are exchanging proposals on compensation and a deal is expected to be hammered out shortly. The camp is likely to begin today. Only the 14 players who survive the post-camp cut will get a match/tour contract. (Caribbean Cricket.com)