WICB-WIPA contract row continues

Port of Spain:

The contract row between the West Indies Cricket Board and its mainstream players continued after the WICB refused to negotiate with the cricketers until they ended their strike.

A WICB Negotiating Team met with the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) here on Thursday after the players, who have not been offered contract for four successive series, boycotted the fifth unpaid series, against Bangladesh.

They fielded seven uncapped players in the first Test which started at Kingstown on Thursday.

"WICB impressed upon WIPA that it was not prepared, consistent with good industrial relations practices, to negotiate under duress, and insisted that before any good faith negotiations commenced, the players' strike would first have to end," WICB said in a statement on Friday.

The WICB said it would pay the players whatever it had offered during its previous negotiations with WIPA.

"As an act of good faith, WICB has determined that, in the best interest of West Indies cricket, it will pay to its former players the sums it had offered to pay during its previous negotiations with WIPA," the statement said.

But the WIPA refused and the meeting, attended by WICB President Dave Cameron along with Gerard Pinard and Derek Ali while Dinanath Ramnarine and Ousman Ali represented WIPA, lasted only 23 minutes.