Talks to resolve WICB-WIPA dispute fail

Kingston, Jamaica:

Talks to resolve the contract row between the West Indies Cricket Association and Players Association derailed with mediator Sir Shridath Ramphal confessing the matter was "likely to deteriorate further".

"It was another bad day for West Indian cricket which, without fundamental changes, is now likely to deteriorate further," Ramphal was quoted as saying by the 'Jamaica Observer'.

The former Commonwealth Secretary General was appointed on July 21 to mediate in the dispute which erupted when 13 of the leading West Indies players boycotted the first Test against Bangladesh, citing pay and contract issues.

Ramphal was appointed after current Caricom chairman and Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo met with top representatives of both sides.

Although Ramphal claimed that he was close to brokering peace between the two sides, the situation changed when one party (apparently the WICB) introduced an entirely new document and refused to negotiate on it. Besides, WICB selected a "B" team for the Champions Trophy in South Africa.

"The President (of the board) later apologised for the omission but the damage had been done. Mediation was weakened from the start," Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo said in a statement.

He expressed disappointment over the failure to resolve the WICB-WIPA dispute.

"I am disappointed to learn of the failure of WICB and WIPA to reach agreement," he said, adding that "I am not wholly surprised".

"Caricom governments will have to consider what next to do to save West Indies cricket, and West Indians everywhere, from still further humiliation. Now, it seems that the mediation has been the victim of the same spirit of board insistence on getting its own way," he said.