Dinanath Ramnarine
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):
ONE DAY ahead of a crucial meeting with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), West Indies Players Association (WIPA) president, Dinanath Ramnarine, says he was committed to finalising negotiations but stressed the process needed to be "transparent and fair".
"We look forward to finalising the retainer contracts but the process must be transparent and fair," Ramnarine said in a statement yesterday.
"The contracts have to be between the players and the board and must result in an environment that is supportive and sustainable. We are going into the negotiations to ensure that the best interests of West Indies cricket are on the table and in the forefront all the time."
Negotiations between WIPA and WICB reached a stalemate recently with the players contending that they stood to make less than before under the proposed terms for the contracts.
Several meetings between Ramnarine and the WICB Cricket Committee member, Deryck Murray failed to resolve the issue and another meeting has been scheduled for today.
The WICB said Sunday if a resolution was not reached at today's meeting, retainer contracts would be issued to the selected players who would have until Wednesday, May 3 to sign.
Where contracts were not signed, the board said alternative players would be selected, a situation that could result in the best team not being selected for upcoming tours.
Ramnarine said he hoped the best regional side would be available for especially the upcoming Champions Trophy, where West Indies were defending champions.
"We want to ensure that we have the best team possible to defend the Champions Trophy which we so dramatically won against the odds, and to win the World Cup 2007 which is being played here, on our turf," Ramnarine said.
"We would not want anything to happen that will disrupt our march to victory. We want to make our people once more proud of West Indies cricket.
"We recognize that in our region, cricket is more than a game, it is integral to our culture and way of life. We know how much cricket and success mean to our people everywhere in and out of the Caribbean. We want to make them proud of us once more. That is our goal for the future."
The WICB is expected to also offer match tour contracts to those players selected for the Zimbabwe series which bowls off April 29.
