TOny Becca, Contributing Editor
THE WEST Indies home series against South Africa is scheduled to get under way on Thursday, March 31, at Bourda, and West Indians are looking forward to it - especially those who remember the trashing in South Africa a few years ago, those who believe that the Proteas are slipping, and those who believe that the Windies are coming on nicely and good enough to turn the tables.
Chances are, however, the series may not happen. In fact, the way things are going, unless West Indies Board president Teddy Griffith or West Indies Players' Association Dinanath Ramnarine retreat, it will not happen and it does not seem that either one is prepared to take even one step back.
As expected, instead of getting better, the relationship between the board and the players and their association has become worse so much so that the Players' Association, through the aggressive Ramnarine, has accused the board of all manner of things including undermining the integrity of the players, so much so that the board has come out with both barrels blazing.
ENDORSEMENT DEALS
The main problem, at this time and according to the board, is the endorsement deals between Cable & Wireless and some of its players, it is the right of the players to privacy re endorsement deals. It is the refusal of those players contracted to Cable & Wireless to give the board a look at the Cable & Wireless contracts minus the fees involved, it has to do with retainer contracts and match fees, and with the authority of the board under threat, with the board under fire from its sponsors Digicel to protect their investment, with the Players' Association attempting to tell the board what to pay the players, and with the board in no position to meet the demands, it has said enough is enough.
Speaking to the people of the West Indies on Friday night, Griffith talked about the events leading up to the sponsorship deal with Digicel, about having dialogue with the players before the contract was signed, about the problems preceding the VB series in Australia, about the findings of the mediator called in to solve the problem by CARICOM's sub committee on cricket, about what had been agreed to and was still be to decided, about the players continued refusal to let the board see the Cable & Wireless contract, and about the Players' Association response to the suggested retainer contracts and match fees.
UNQUESTIONABLE CONTRACTS
After talking about all that, after telling his audience that the board had offered the players between US$26,400 (approximately $1,584,000) and US$79,200 (approximately $4,752,000) per year under the retainer contract scheme and that association was demanding between US$35,000 (approximately $2,100,000) and US$135,000 (approximately $8,100,000) that the board had offered between US$2,500 (approximately $150,000) and US$3,500 (approximately $210,000) per Test match and that the association was demanding between US$3,000 (approximately $180,000) and US$6,000 (approximately $360,000), and that the board had offered the players 17 per cent of the net annual sponsorship as appearance fees and that the association was demanding 28 per cent, Griffith announced that the board had instructed the selectors not to consider the players contracted to Cable & Wireless until the board sees the contracts, until the board is satisfied that the contracts are "unquestionable in the nature of the individual contracts and contains no provisions which could be construed as passing off by the player of his connection with the West Indies team by attribution or by defining himself as a member of the West Indies team".
The seven players are batsmen Brian Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle, all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, fast bowlers Fidel Edwards and Ravi Rampaul, and offspinner Omari Banks.
Griffith went further than that. The president, shooting from the hip, told the region that he had also instructed the selectors to select 25 players, that the players would be told that the terms and conditions, with a little modification, would be the same as those of the match/tour contract for the VB series in Australia, and that they would be told to inform the board of their availability by March 11.
The deadline for the confirmation of the tour is March 14 and the board, according to Griffith, wants to be in a position at that time to let South Africa know if the tour is on or if it is off.
According to the president of the West Indies Board, the board cannot allow the whole structure of West Indies cricket to be put in peril as a result of individual contracts that will profit a few players on the West Indies team as opposed to bringing benefits to the entire West Indies cricket family, and he is right.
The players are important to the game no question about that, they deserve to be well paid no question about that, there have been times, many times at that, when the board has not treated the players as well, and it would be embarrassing if the series had to be called off.
The militant approach of the players through their association is not good for West Indies cricket, however, WIPA needs to understand that the board is not its enemy, without even adding the offer for each Test match played, each one-day played and the incentives available, the players need to understand that in the West Indies the US$79,200 offered to the top players in the proposed retainer scheme is a lot of money, in Jamaica, for example, that is approximately 4.8 million dollars, that to ask for almost twice that only as a retainer is greedy, and on top of that, as good as some are, as good as some believe they are, the players need to understand a few things.
The players need to understand that right around the world people are paid based on performance, that no where in the world people pay more than they can afford to pay, that there were West Indies players before them and some great ones at that, that for West Indies cricket to survive there must be West Indies players after them, that apart from paying for their travel and accommodation in five star hotels, apart from paying their medical bills, and for that to happen some of the board's money must be used for development for such things as coaching, youth tournaments, and senior tournaments.
SUITABLE REPLACEMENTS
The players should also understand that they are not indispensable that there are other players good enough and ready to represent the West Indies.
Lest it is forgotten, the players and their association should also understand that some of the board's money has to be used, or should be used to assist the clubs that nurture them when, as youngsters, they spent every day, from morning to night, dreaming of representing the West Indies and did not know what was the membership fee, what was the cost of preparing the pitch, what was the cost of a bat or a ball, and what was the cost of lunch and tea.
Hopefully the players and their association will appreciate all that and back off a bit so that the West Indies Board can have a good relationship with its
sponsors and therefore make some money - some of which will be used to pay them, some of which should be used to ensure the future of West Indies cricket.
What is important at this point is that the board, having made a stand, stand firm in the interest of West Indies cricket.
