Windies face US$2m penalty

MELBOURNE —  Cricket Australia (CA), the governing body of the game in Australia, are  becoming increasingly impatient over the West Indies indecision over scheduled participation in next month’s triangular VB Series. CA chief executive James Sutherland said on Thursday he is yet to be notified by his West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) counterpart, Roger Brathwaite, whether the team is coming or not. Sutherland wrote to Brathwaite on Wednesday night, outlining CA’s expectations that West Indies would fulfil their commitments to participate in the tournament that also involves Australia and Pakistan and runs from January 14 to February 8.

As of Thursday night (Australia time), Sutherland’s only source of information on the contract dispute was a wire report from the Caribbean, stating that mediation talks between WICB and West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA), overseen by Grenada Prime Minister Keith Mitchell, were seemingly successful. “The noises coming out of the West Indies sound good, but we still have no official confirmation of what’s going on,” CA communications manager Peter Young said.

“James (Sutherland) informed them in no uncertain terms that we believe international cricket should be the best versus the best, and that there is a contract that requires them to turn up,” he added. “No one has got back to us yet.” When the dispute between WICB and WIPA first surfaced, CA floated the possibility of replacing West Indies in the VB Series with another international team. India, the only such team not engaged during the VB Series, have dismissed any suggestion that it would fill the breach and CA has said it has made no contingency plans for a no-show by West Indies. If West Indies opt out, WICB faces a minimum fine of US$2 million under International Cricket Council regulations.