WI Board, players still at odds
published: Saturday | October 1, 2005

GORDON

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC:

IT APPEARS that the negotiations between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) over match/tour contracts for the Australian tour have broken down.

Unconfirmed media reports indicate that negotiators for both sides failed to reach a resolution to the impasse by the deadline of Thursday at noon set by new WICB President Ken Gordon.

The hotly disputed Clause 5 of the contracts that deals with players' image rights was again the sticking point.

DISAPPOINTMENT

Gordon had expressed his disappointment that no resolution seemed in sight to the long-running battle between the two parties and had disclosed the deadline on Wednesday, when speaking to the Barbados Chamber of Commerce.

The deadlock, however, is not likely to prevent West Indies from sending their best team to Australia for a three-Test series in November, since all players are likely to make themselves available for selection.

Gordon had indicated that the WICB may consider bringing the International Cricket Council into the negotiations if they failed, and WIPA is also hoping that they would agree to the Federation of International Cricketers' Association (FICA) being part of the process.