WI invitees head for camp

However, the prolonged dispute between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) still remains unresolved.

While both parties chose not to comment on the state of negotiations yesterday, sources close to the WICB revealed that all the players had responded positively to the letters of invitation.

Originally the WICB had set Monday at 5 pm as the deadline for players to return the signed letters but this was waived after discussions between Ken Gordon, president of the regional body and Dinanath Ramnarine, Chief Executive Officer of WIPA.

The letters were accompanied by the draft match/tour contracts that the players would be required to sign if selected.

There was no deadline, however, attached to those contracts.

Checks revealed that several of the players were keen on signing the match/tour contracts to pave the way for a full-strength team to make the trip to Australia. Over the weekend, attorneys for WICB and WIPA met on the heels of a meeting of the heads of both bodies, Ken Gordon and Dinanath Ramnarine.

Ramnarine had also made it clear that players would attend the camp under the clear understanding they would not be bound by the draft match/tour contracts since negotiations were still in progress.

The players are expected to start assembling in Barbados on Saturday for the six-day training camp at the 3Ws Oval at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies.

The only player who will miss the camp is batting star Brian Lara who is currently overseas.

The left-handed double world record holder has been granted leave by the West Indies Cricket Board to take part in the upcoming Super Series Test and One-Day International between the World XI and Australia Down Under.

The tour of Australia includes Test matches in Brisbane from November 3 to 7, at Hobart from November 17 to 21 and in Adelaide from November 25 to 29.