BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (AP):
WEST INDIES cricket officials meet with the regional players association today to try to resolve a dispute over sponsorship deals.
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) confirmed the meeting in a statement yesterday. CEO Roger Brathwaite and chief cricket operations officer Zorol Barthley will represent the board at the meeting. The board did not detail what would be discussed at the meeting.
The main issue is that as many as 10 senior players, including captain Brian Lara, have existing sponsorship deals with Cable & Wireless, a direct telecommunications competitor of new West Indies cricket sponsor, Digicel, according to officials with knowledge of the dispute.
The West Indies Players Association (WIPA) has urged 25 players not to sign letters of invitation to a training camp and a match contract ahead of a one-day triangular tournament in Australia in January until the current dispute is settled.
STIPULATIONS
"Some of the conditions stipulated by the board have nothing to do with cricket but represent an attempt to exploit the players for commercial purposes," player association CEO Dinanath Ramnarine said.
Ramnarine has not provided specifics on what the association finds wrong with the contracts. The WICB said it was confident that the players would eventually sign them.
The WICB issued a separate statement yesterday acknowledging that it has been late in making payments to players for appearances throughout 2004.
"The WICB and WIPA have been engaged for some time in discussions with respect to outstanding payments to the players," the statement said. "The establishment of a payment schedule has been part of these ongoing discussions."
