ST JOHN'S, Antigua, CMC:
THE WEST Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) have agreed that players selected for the upcoming tour to Australia will sign the contentious match/tour contracts, ensuring that the first choice West Indies team travels 'Down Under'.
However, the International Cricket Council and the Federation of International Cricketers Associations will be brought in to continue negotiations on the controversial Clause 5 and will be expected to make a joint recommendation within 10 days of commencing the negotiations, the WICB and WIPA said in a joint statement yesterday.
The statement said that the joint recommendation would be binding on both parties. However, it was also agreed that if the ICC and FICA could not reach a solution, they in turn would recommend an independent arbitrator.
Once an agreement was reached on Clause 5, the WICB and WIPA said it would subsequently be included in the contract.
If the situation was not resolved prior to the tour, negotiations are expected to continue and "any financial benefits which may be agreed upon the mediators' recommendation would be paid with effect from the date of the signing of the contract."
The two parties also agreed that matters, which remain unsettled with respect to all other outstanding issues including the proposed retainer contracts, would be referred to representatives of their organisations for finalisation within an agreed time frame.
The new attempts to solve the long-running impasse come after WICB president Ken Gordon held talks last weekend with WIPA's president and chief executive officer, Dinanath
