Ganga
WEST INDIES 'A' Team captain Daren Ganga admitted in an interview posted on the website Cricinfo yesterday that members of his team were placed under pressure during the current Sri Lanka tour, to sign contracts to be part of the senior team for its upcoming series.
However, the West Indies Cricket Board has categorically denied the allegations.
According to the Cricinfo report, on Monday the 'A' Team members were addressed by senior team manager Tony Howard, who had flown to Sri Lanka on board and without the knowledge
of the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), who are in a bitter dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
The report added that only two of the squad members, Kerry Jeremy and Tino Best, agreed to sign the tour contract which is at the heart of the dispute and the other members all signed a letter advising the board that they were backing the action taken by their colleagues (senior team).
Ganga said the "guys took a stance as a team" and explained that a divide-and-conquer approach appeared to have broken that resolve.
"We held together as a team and all of a sudden some guys were pressured," Ganga explained. "We had situations where guys were pressured one-on-one as well to sign a contract. It undermined the entire trust of the team."
In a release issued late yesterday evening, however, the WICB categorically denied the allegations.
The release said: "The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) categorically denies that any of its members or officers have either threatened or pressured any player as alleged in newspaper and website articles.
BREACH OF POLICY
Any such behaviour by any member or officer
of the board would constitute a clear breach of WICB policy. In this regard the Board has asked the manager of the West Indies A Team in Sri Lanka, Mr. Lindel Wright, for a full report with respect to an article attributing comments to the captain of the team, Daren Ganga.
All players contracted to tour Sri Lanka with the West Indies senior team signed their contracts freely, accepting the opportunity to represent the West Indies, despite strenuous efforts to prevent them from taking up the offer."
The report added: "The board is of the view that a dispute with its players' association should not prevent the West Indies from maintaining its international schedule and fulfilling its obligations as a member of the International Cricket Council under the Future Tours Programme. This will ensure that players continue to be given an opportunity to earn a living at their chosen career while allowing the WICB to remain a valued partner in the international cricket arena.
In recent weeks, the WICB and the players' association have been at loggerheads over match tour contracts for the Sri Lanka series.
REFUSALS
Ten senior players former captain Brian Lara, Ian Bradshaw, Dwayne Bravo, Pedro Collins, Corey Collymore, Fidel Edwards, Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Ramnaresh Sarwan, and Devon Smith refused to sign the WICB's latest offer.
Only three players captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Daren Powell and newly-recruited Windies Under-19 wicketkeeper Dinesh Ramdin from the original squad of 13 invited on June 17, signed their letter of invitation and returned them to the WICB by the deadline of June 21.
Due to that position, the WICB, in an effort to have its strongest squad possible, sought to sign over a number of 'A' Team players to the senior tour and on Wednesday, Roger Brathwaite, the chief executive officer of the WICB, told reporters that the talks had produced a 'positive response'.
However, the leaking of the players' letter ran contrary to that comment.
Having failed to get all the required signatures, late Thursday night the WICB released a 14-man squad which includes eight members of the West Indies 'A' Team now touring Sri Lanka.
Besides Best and Jeremy, who had signed initially, the other six are Xavier Marshall, Ryan Ramdass, Runako Morton, Dwayne Smith, Narsingh Deonarine and Jermaine Lawson, all of whom are expected to join the main tour party when they arrive this weekend.
Meanwhile, the West Indies 'A' Team went on to lose the unofficial second 'test' yesterday against Sri Lanka by an innings and 16 runs and Ganga blamed this on their frame of mind.
"We are not sort of mentally prepared to play cricket," explained Ganga.
"I am speaking on behalf of the majority of the team. We are just looking forward to see what transpires in a couple of days and see what happens and take it from there," he continued.
"I just hope the people and our supporters back home understand what is happening to our cricket and our players in terms of the stress that we are undergoing when these sort of situations arise."
