West Indies Cricket Board's chief executive officer Roger Brathwaite. - PHOTO BY ANTHONY FOSTER
THE WEST Indies' tour of Sri Lanka continues to be in doubt as neither party involved, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) nor the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) is willing to budge.
The controversial Clause 5 of the Match Tour Contract is the main stumbling block in the negotiation.
However, the board submitted to WIPA, late Monday, a minor amendment to its revised Clause 5, which now reads:
"The WICB acknowledges that individual players have the sole and exclusive right and are free to enter into their own individual commercial contracts granting similar image rights as in Clause 5(a) other than as a West Indian Player and subject to Clause 5.1 and Clause 5.2."
In an earlier response to the proposals submitted by the WICB on June 25, WIPA have agreed that a binding determination on Clause 5 of the Sri Lanka Match Tour Contract by Mr Justice Adrian Saunders, the CARICOM-appointed adjudicator, when completed, should be applied to that contract with all the attendant consequences.
Yesterday, the board wrote to WIPA, asking for clarification on one of its latest proposals submitted, in an effort to resolve the issues.
The board is seeking clarification of the statement "with all the attendant consequences" as well as whether the newly-revised Clause 5 is the clause that will be submitted for adjudication.
On Monday, as the impasse continued, the WICB advised its selectors to name a second-string squad for the tour.
COMMITMENTS
WICB Chief Executive Officer, Roger Brathwaite, said that the board was taking action to ensure that its commitments under the International Cricket Council's Future Tours Programme would be met.
"We have a responsibility to Sri Lanka, India and the ICC to honour the agreement for this Test series and One-Day International triangular contest and we will do all in our power to meet that commitment," he said.
"We have been in touch with some of the players currently on tour with the 'A' team in Sri Lanka, regarding their availability and have had a very positive response from them," he added.
Earlier, only three players in the original 13-man squad selected for the tour - captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul, fast bowler Daren Powell and uncapped wicket-keeper Dinesh Ramdin - had signed team contracts.
Meanwhile, another problem could accrue, as Sri Lanka cricket board member, Adel Hassim, says his board would obviously be very disappointed if the West Indies were unable to send a full-strength side.
Hassim says the Sri Lankan board is watching the situation very closely and an interim committee will discuss the issue at its meeting later this week, hoping that an amicable solution will be reached.
Sri Lanka could face serious financial implications due to lost sponsorship and television revenue if the WICB is unable to reach a settlement with the players.
If the West Indies are unable to fulfil their commitment to tour, then they face a possible fine of up to US$2 million under current International Cricket Council regulations.
