WEST INDIES players earn between US$3,500 (J$213,500) and US$8,000 (J$488,000) per Test match, according to the Caribbean's cricket website CaribbeanCricket.com.
When contacted to comment on the salary scale published by the site, the West Indies Cricket Board's chief executive officer, Roger Brathwaite, said he could not disclose such information.
"That is something confidential between the board and the West Indies Players' Associa-tion, Brathwaite said.
It is believed that Chris Gayle, Jamaica's highest paid cricketer on the West Indies team, earned about US$81,000 (J$4.9 million) between November 2003 and August 2004 in Test match fees.
He also played 30 one-day international (ODI) matches during this time collecting about US$46,500 (J$2.84 million), which does not include other earnings such as match-winning fees or man-of-the-match awards.
LARA IS TOPS
Only captain Brian Lara, who has played 112 Tests and 244 ODIs, and vice-captain Shivna-rine Chanderpaul, who has 80 Tests and 161 ODIs under his belt, pulled in more money than Gayle, who has played 47 Tests and 106 one-day international matches.
Lara gets about US$7,500 (J$457,500) per Test with an additional US$600 to lead while Chanderpaul collects US$7,000 up to the last Test he played, according to the site.
Sarwan (50 Tests and 73 ODIs), left-handed opener Wavell Hinds (38 Tests and 87 ODIs), fast bowler Merv Dillon (38 Tests and 104 ODIs), batsman Darren Ganga (30 Tests and 28 ODIs), middle-order batsman Marlon Samuels (19 Tests and 53 ODIs) and pacer Corey Collymore (14 Tests and 56 one- dayers) are the other big earners.
As for the shorter version of the game one-day cricket the captain earns about US$2,500 per match while Chanderpaul (US$2,000), Sarwan (US$1,500), Gayle (US$1,750), Hinds (US$1,500), Ricardo Powell (US$1,750), Dillon (US$1,750) and Marlon Samuels (US$1,500) also do quite well.
In his little time at the top level, Jamaicna 'keeper Carlton Baugh Jr., who has played five Tests and six one-dayers, earned more than US$23,500 (J$1.43 million). He earned between US$3,500 and US$4,000 per Test and US$1,000 for ODIs, according to the site.
The match fees listed do not include incentives given for winning and bonus payments. Come next month with the Tri-Nation Series in Australia, players can earn an extra US$1.7 million (J$103.7 million) from new sponsor Digicel in a calendar year, providing they beat any of the top four teams in the world.
When playing in the region, players are not taxed, according to the CaribbeanCricket.com story.
